Beyond Smallville: Edge of Darkness
by gardy77
Summary: Lois finds out the truth about Clark. An enemy from the past returns. Includes guest stars Nightwing and Batgirl, Cat Woman and Batman, Lois and Clark face a new evildoer. Is he a super powered meteor freak, or something different? Clois, CLaura. Superman: Rough Justice part 3 debuts.
1. Chapter 1: Edge of Darkness

Evolution Chapter 19

**Edge of Darkness  
**  
Scene: _Kent farm_.

"Clark, can I see that knife?" Laura asked politely. "Don't worry, I'm not going to use it on someone. I want my friend, Tim Servo, to analyze the blood particles on the blade."

"Gross, but why?" Lois butted in. "I don't believe that Mosuban is who he says he is." Laura explained. "We know that he's probably Mobus Khan." Clark contributed. "True, but we also don't know if he's human." Laura informed them. "Huh? Where did you get that from?" Kara inquired.

"I believe that Mosuban is some kind of genetically enhanced being." Laura still sounded like she was grasping at straws. "On the basis of what?" Clark questioned. "Let's call it a hunch." Laura said vaguely. "Didn't we just discuss picking a side, and trust values, Laura?" Lois accused.

"Yes. But what if I'm wrong? I might just be chasing shadows." Laura defended. "Okay, but where did you get the idea?" Kara wondered out loud, questioning her new friend. "Let's check the news channels." Laura suggested. "I believe that I hit Mosuban in the shoulder, hence the blood particles. Clark picked up the knife before the police did."

Laura flipped through the news channels with the remote. "Check out this interview that Mosuban gave right after the incident. No blood, no bandage, no injury…not even a scratch." Laura pressed the freeze frame. Clark and Kara examined the image with their exceptional vision.

"She's right!" Clark agreed. "Did you hit someone else?" Lois asked logically. "That's what I need to determine." Laura sighed with frustration. Clark replayed the preceding events in his mind's eye. "You know, Laura, I'm reasonably sure that you did hit Mosuban." Superman confirmed.

"Someone with regenerative cell properties?" Lois put out there. "Perhaps, a meteor freak ability?" She added. "Possibly." Clark agreed. "Yet as far as we know, Mosuban has never been to Smallville or Metropolis before." Kara frowned. "A phantom Zoner that we missed?"

"That also could be the connection between Lex and Rex Rowland." Lois offered. "A person with meteor rock enhanced regeneration…" Kara interrupted her. "You know if that's true, Mosuban could conceivably live forever." Lois was stunned. "Or as long as he kept paying Lex or Rex for his 'therapy'." Clark wasn't convinced. "We're still jumping to conclusions."

"Exactly. That's why I need to get the knife to Tim now, before the blood dries on it." Laura insisted. "Okay. Do it!" Clark decided to trust the turbo teen. His conviction suddenly impressed Lois. Her eyes yellowed briefly, and she became anxious, nervous, even angrier. Was the meteor rock infection beginning to take its toll on Lois?

Clark handed the knife to Laura and she immediately zipped back to Falcon Claw. "Clark, Kara, I'm going back to work. I need to do something, or I'll go crazy." She announced as Kara and Clark exchanged worried glances. Lois packed up her laptop and super sped to the Daily Planet.

She'd left her car in Clark's driveway. Kara stated the obvious: "She's starting to break down." Clark nodded. "Lois is becoming too dependent on her powers. It's like being addicted to drugs for a human." He added. "It's time that I called Dr. Emil Hamilton."

Kara silently wondered what good that would do. "I don't know what to expect, but I have to trust Marcus Worthington's judgment on this. He'd already helped John Jonz with his unique physiology." Clark discussed. "It can't hurt." Kara reluctantly agreed. "It's not as if we can just drag her over to Smallville Medical."

"She wouldn't go anyway, Lois is far too stubborn." Clark observed. "Not unlike someone I know." Kara's eyes sparkled as she threw in the playful dig. "If he can't help her, Kal, we'd better have a back up plan." She zoomed upstairs and returned with a brown, lead lined box.

Kara put on some common rubber kitchen-cleaning gloves and opened the box. In it glistened a small chunk of blue kryptonite, roughly the size of a tennis ball. "You found it?" Clark asked his little cousin in amazement. "Yes. I figure if we don't touch it directly, it can't zap our powers away. It's not like the green kryptonite that knocks us completely on our butts."

She pulled out another set of gloves for Clark. "I'll create the facets and the ring holders." He volunteered, hyper speeding away and returning a few moments later. Kara assembled the rings' pieces and painstakingly melted the blue kryptonite down to a roughly hewn piece, with her heat vision, that fit inside the rings' facets.

"Why are we making three?" Kara asked innocently. "Are you expecting one or two to break?" Clark smirked. "Not exactly. I'll tell you when you're a little older." She cast him a sidelong glance. The two aliens worked hard, adjusting their pinpoint heat vision to melt away the excess blue K from the three centerpiece gems.

"Almost ready." Kara announced as she ran the rings through some icy cold water. The gems were now set in place, melted to fit each unique facet. "You're sure that the blue kryptonite will absorb Lois's powers?" Kara asked. "Yes. It should work the same way on her as it did on me. I was basically human while wearing Lara's ring."

Kara chuckled. "I want to see the expression on Lois's face, when you give her the ring. Are you going to get down on one knee?" She needled her cousin. "Let's not get carried away. The blue ring is simply a tool." Clark defended.

"Kal, you have no sense of romance, do you?" She continued to ride him. "Now remember, we're using this ring as a last resort." He added. "I'm assuming that Dr. Hamilton will be able to somehow remove the kryptonite infection without harming Lois."

Clark pocketed the ring, carefully placing it inside one of three miniature, crudely created, ring boxes. Kara held one ring up against the sunlight. It shone through the gem brightly, creating a prismatic effect on the kitchen walls. "We do great work, cuz!" Kara and Clark gave each other a high five.

Over at the Daily Planet – Lois Lane sat uncomfortably, fidgeting frequently at the desk within her cubicle. She'd completed her preliminary story of the attempt on Mosuban's life. Her alleged eyewitness account lacked any detail on his assailant, instead claiming that it all happened so fast.

"Lane!" Perry bellowed. "On the way chief!" Lois yelled back across the mostly silent newsroom. She grabbed her laptop, set to her latest story rendition, and headed into the Editor's Office. She sat down across from Perry, still jumpy, and irritable.

"Lane, what's wrong with you? You're acting like a cat on a hot tin roof." Perry said with concern. Lois shrugged. "Too much excitement today, chief." She replied lamely. "Uh huh. So what happened out there?" He questioned her. His naturally suspicious personality took over.

"We're not exactly sure." She began. "The ongoing theory is that one of the protesters got into the Assembly Hall and tried to take either Lex, Rex Rowland, or Mosuban out. They all have a myriad of enemies, and people that they've screwed over the years."

"I see." Perry eyed her skeptically. "You didn't get a glimpse of the attacker?" Lois gulped. "Nope. Sorry chief. I guess that I dropped the ball on this one. It all happened so fast." At least she wasn't lying about that much.

"Observation, Lane. That's what makes a good reporter, great. More attention to detail." Perry lectured her. "Kent see anything?" He asked hopefully. Lois shook her head. "No sir. I guess that I panicked and jumped into Kent's lap, blocking his view." She held back a snicker. "That so?" Perry smirked. "How're you two getting along?"

Lois shrugged. "Aces, chief. Kent's good people." She said honestly. Perry smiled outright, a rarity indeed. "See, I told you that I know a good team when I see one." Lois was still fidgeting. "The Army didn't prepare you for sneak attacks, huh?" Perry asked half seriously.

"No. I guess I spent too much time running away from the Army Staff to learn anything." Lois danced around the subject. "I was afraid that my dad, the General, would nail my hide to the barracks wall if he caught me playing grabass with the boys on the base."

Perry laughed heartily. Lois had managed to charm her way out of a stern lecture. "Anything else?" she offered. "No. I suppose the paper will just have to run with the rest of the pack. If no one can identify the assailant, it'll just be a police matter. I expect a follow up story, though, Lane, keep at it!"

"Will do, chief." Lois gave him a mock salute. "Off you go, Lane, I have a paper to run!" Perry dismissed her pleasantly. She headed back to her cubicle, and much to her amazement, in walked H.K. Mosuban. He stopped to ask directions, and strolled towards her.

_Game on, Lois!_ She mentally encouraged herself.

**Night of the Blur** - Chapter 20

"Mr. Mosuban, I see you're no worse for the wear from this morning's debacle." Lois gathered all her courage and professionalism together and shook the businessman's hand. It made her ill to think of the possible evil behind the calm, pleasant, foreign banking mogul's exterior.

"Don't judge our entire country by this event." Lois added diplomatically. "I would respectfully say, that you should be mindful of the company you keep. Rex Rowland and Lex Luthor are not well liked in this city or others." Mosuban nodded, obviously gauging his next words.

"I wish to thank you, Miss Lane. Your quick response may have saved more than one life today." Mosuban pandered. "Any responsible citizen would do the same." Lois downplayed. "Have there been any leads on the assailant?" Mosuban fished for information as Lois sat back down.

"Regrettably, no." Lois smiled coolly. "Metropolis is a big city, with many urban problems." Mosuban nodded, vainly trying to view Lois's computer monitor. At his approach, she'd casually turned the monitor towards the rear of her cubicle, not that anything important was on it.

"You didn't happen to get a look at the attacker?" Mosuban politely prodded. "Unfortunately, no. All I saw was a black and yellow blur. The assailant was far too athletic for me, or perhaps had an accomplice ready with transportation nearby." Lois evaded.

"We have no idea who the thug was, or who his intended target may have been." Lois added. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Mosuban considered that, silently. "Your young man, the one that was with you, do you think that he saw anything?" Lois shrugged. "Clark would've told the police all he knew by now. Have you checked with them?"

Mosuban nodded. "Yes, but they haven't come up with anything new." Lois glanced at him blankly. "Maybe the security cameras caught some image?" She offered, silently hoping that Kara and Laura had disabled all of the security monitors, before Laura decided to take the assault to the next level.

"Perhaps." Mosuban quickly looked over Lois's desk, most likely to see if she'd left any relevant information out in the open. "The police say it is an ongoing investigation." He added, as Lois patiently tapped her pen on the desktop.

"I'm glad you're all right, Mr. Mosuban." Lois was trying to politely get rid of him before she received a call from someone like Clark, Kara, or Laura. "Maybe the police will have some new leads soon." Mosuban nodded his acknowledgment. "Keep reading the paper!" Lois quipped.

Mosuban said his goodbyes and headed back out to the lobby. Lois shook her head, going back to her latest story. A young woman strolled past her desk, and suddenly turned to face her. Lois glanced up briefly. "Was that the business mogul, HK Mosuban I just saw stopping by your desk?" She asked, casually. The woman was dressed provocatively, in a low cut, fire engine red, form-fitting dress.

"Yes." Lois replied. "He was trying to pump me for information." The young woman smirked. "I suppose that's all he was trying to pump you for." Lois winced. "Excuse me? Do I know you?" The young woman flipped her lengthy brown hair over her shoulder. "I don't believe so."

She extended a thin hand, with well-manicured fingernails. "Catherine Grant, new fashion reporter for the Planet." Lois reluctantly shook it. "Miss Grant. I usually only let my closest friends insult me." She menaced.

"I don't mean any disrespect, Miss Lane, but I do always speak my mind. Judging by that dingy green and brown outfit you're wearing, you've never heard of me, or read my articles in Seventeen, Vanity Fair, or Lady Forbes weekly." Catherine jabbed.

Lois was doing a slow burn. The last thing she needed was a smart-ass new employee in her face. Catherine was also toying with her life by getting on Lois's bad side. "For your information, Miss Grant, this office has a dress code. You obviously didn't get the memo." Lois sniped.

"Ooh! Meow!" Catherine made a cat scratching gesture with her hands. "We are catty today, Miss Lane. No matter, I enjoy a good challenge. I'll talk you into updating your wardrobe if it kills me." Catherine

smirked. "For your information, I'm on a budget, and I actually work for a living." Lois countered. "A budget is no excuse for not looking your best." Grant said, calming Lois's ire a bit.

"I am working, Miss Lane. It's my vocation to spread good fashion throughout the city, and eventually the world." Catherine said boldly. "I work behind a desk, not under it!" Lois snapped.

"Oh my! Miss Lane, don't be petty!" Catherine countered. "I am very good at what I do, which is why the Daily Planet hired me." Lois sighed, mad at herself for letting Grant get under her skin.

Grant stalked towards Perry White's office, and Lois gulped. Had she let Grant push her too far? The fashion reporter flashed an evil grin back at Lois, just as she entered Perry's office. Lois sat back down, angry, and tired. This week had really sucked, she thought miserably, placing her head in her hands.

A few minutes later, Catherine Grant returned. Lois reddened. "I'm sorry Miss Lane, I spoke out of line. It won't happen again. In fact, I've no intention of ever talking to you again." Lois sighed and swallowed some pride. "Miss Grant, I didn't act professionally. I'm…uh…sorry." She choked out. "Thank you, that's very big of you." Grant remarked. "Oh, here's some of my work."

Catherine handed a small stack of fashion magazines to Lois. "I'm going to be working out of that cubicle across the aisle from…Clark Kent?" She read Clark's desk nameplate. "My job consists of going to every fashion and social event on the calendar, so I won't be here very often. I suspect there's no danger of you becoming my new BFF."

Lois resisted the urge to give her a list of acronyms she could think of, none of which would be complimentary. Grant was right. If they were to work in the same office, they'd have to at least tolerate one another. Where the hell is Clark when I need him? She wondered silently.

The two women shared an uncomfortable silence. "Apparently, we can both work on our people skills." Catherine gibed. "Agreed." Lois responded, extending a hand. "Good luck with your new job." She forced herself to be amicable toward the young fashion-ista. "Thank you, and good luck with doing whatever it is you do." Grant said, before thinking it through.

Lois groaned, straining to keep her temper in check. "I'm a journalist, Miss Grant. Have you read my expose on the Mowhala Drug Cartel? Or the amazing red and blue blur?" Catherine seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Yes, I believe I read about the blur. Do you think he's cute?"

Lois sighed patiently. Yes he's cute. She thought silently, but said: "We don't know that the blur is a he. We're just making assumptions." Catherine smiled wickedly. "I bet I can draw him out of hiding, I mean what hero could resist a damsel in distress?" The girls' verbal jousting was cut short by Perry White, motioning Lois into his office. My turn in the barrel, she mentally grumbled.

"I guess I have to get back to work." Grant said, finally taking the hint. "So many parties, so little time. Nice meeting you, Miss Lane." Lois dismissed her with a wave. "Seriously, though, please upgrade your wardrobe. I'm only trying to help." She left as Perry folded his arms impatiently.  
Lois warily joined Perry in his office. "Lois, have a seat." She sighed and sat down, memo pad in hand. "Miss Grant was just in here…" Perry began. "I apologized to her already for being somewhat unprofessional." Lois cut him off. "Yeah, I get that. I really do. Mark my words, I read her the riot act for being disruptive, and told her that she needed to be a people person if she wanted to succeed."

Perry continued. "We all need to get along. This is a team. Grant isn't the issue. She was hired because she's the best at what she does." Lois flashed him a lopsided grin. I bet she is, she thought wickedly. "Besides, she knows some members of the Board of Directors." Perry added. "Though you didn't hear that from me." Lois nodded. I bet she knows the Board intimately. She silently sniped.

"I called you in because I want you and Kent to track this red and blue blur story." Perry instructed her. "Something smells about this story, and I want you two to find the skunk in the rose garden, so to speak. What's this blur up to? Why's he focusing on Metropolis? How's he walk the line between vigilantism, and being a helpful, concerned citizen?"

Lois was stunned. I could just ask him, she mentally decided. "These are the kinds of questions we need to be asking." Perry continued, off on one of his famous lectures. "Clark and I will get right on it." Lois promised. "That's what I wanted to hear, Lois." Perry grinned thinly.

"That's why I'm assigning you two to the City Beat. That's where we'll find our answers, and how we'll get the big story." Perry added. "It's a lot of work, following the City Beat. That's why I'm setting you both up on it. Kent's wet behind the ears, but he's got heart and initiative."

"As for you, and I'm only telling you this for your own good, Lois…" Perry said seriously as Lois swallowed hard. "You need to find some passion. You're professional, that's good, but to be great, you have to really get into a story." Lois flushed. "Thanks, Chief."

"Where is Kent, anyway?" Perry glanced around the office behind her. "Um…I've got him chasing details on the near assassination attempt this morning at the press conference." It wasn't exactly a lie, Lois told herself. Clark probably was working on tracking Mosuban, Rowland, and Lex down.

"That's good. Most important stories need a lot of leg work." Perry commented. "One more thing, Lois, we have to make our own stories sometimes, not just wait for a sensational one to drop into our laps. Metropolis is a cesspool. Every corner probably holds a story."

"Got it, Chief." Lois said automatically. "Okay, that's all for now. It's almost five o'clock, time to pack it up." Perry said. "Thanks, I still have some details to add to the red and blue blur follow up." Lois boasted. "That's my girl!" Perry smiled. She got up and returned to her cubicle.

Lois got on the phone immediately to Clark. "Mosuban was just here. He was fishing for information. I wanted to follow him, but got called into Perry White's office. You need to put some face time in at the office soon, Smallville, Perry's giving us the City Beat, that's where all the action is."

"One more thing, Clark. I want you to take me out on patrol with you. Get ready for the red and blue blur and his plus one!" She quipped.


	2. Chapter 2: Out on The Town

**Out On The Town**: Chapter 21

"Aren't we interfering with police business by patrolling the streets of Metropolis?" Clark asked Lois, as they finished getting dressed. "Not really, Clark. Like Perry said, this town is a cesspool. The police are outmatched, outnumbered, and outgunned by the criminal element."

"They'd be more than happy to get the help, I'm sure. The citizens of Metropolis would appreciate being able to walk the streets safely at night." She concluded, adding a final fix to her lengthy chestnut brown hair for the evening.

"What if more people see us?" Clark hesitated as Lois packed a camera and notepad into her purse. "That's the idea, Smallville." Lois said as she zipped up her purse and attached it to a belt above her slim hips. "The red and blue blur needs street cred, and results for the cops."

"MPD won't fuss as much if we keep bringing in the criminal populous, or at least shining a light on every dark corner of the city's underbelly." Lois continued. "Most MPD squads will be sent out from HQ to quell the domestic disturbances, drunk and disorderly, and wild party calls."

"We want the big name, high impact crimes, like armed robbery, assault with deadly force, ag bats, attempted murder, and the occasional cat up the tree calls for the human interest angle to a story." She grinned thinly. "That's where the real game is." Clark whistled.

"It sounds like someone's been doing her homework." He praised. "Hey, you know me, Clark. I can't stay idle for long." The overzealous reporter was still on a kryptonite infused rush. Lois had barely slept in the last few days. Clark wondered when she'd finally come down, so to speak.

This high level of hyperactivity couldn't be maintained for long by a normal human. Clark and Kara had already planned to bring Lois to Dr. Hamilton. The question was how to get her to cooperate. Kara's blue kryptonite ring solution seemed to him to be the best way to go.

Once Lois put it on, she'd be more or less human and powerless. Clark could forcibly drag her to Hamilton's office if need be. He pictured Lois kicking and screaming all the way in. Lois had known about Clark's secret for a while now. She'd seemed okay with it so far, he mused.

Clark was still testing her. He wondered if once Lois got back to normal, she'd still feel the same. It didn't work with Lana Lang, who seemed jealous of Clark's abilities at times. Lana had attempted and failed to turn herself into a superhero.

"Where do we start?" Clark asked as Lois finalized her route with Chloe's borrowed GPS unit. "All of the major action is near the Ace of Clubs, that meat market bar, slash restaurant, in downtown Metropolis. As we know from experience with Luthor, Rowland, and Mosuban, big money breeds big crime." She replied as Clark opened the farmhouse door for her.

"Isn't it expensive to get into the club?" Clark pondered. "Hello! We don't need to pay to get in!" Lois reminded him as they started for her car. The plan was to park at the Daily Planet and canvass it from there. This made it look like the crime-fighters were just normal average citizens.  
"That's not fair, Lois!" Clark remarked. "Everyone else has to pay to get in." Lois put her hands up in resignation. "Fine! We'll pay the cover charge. If we come up with a story, we can charge it to the paper as working expense." Clark was forced to compromise with her. "Okay! Backing off!" he said, opening the car door for her.

"Here's another thing." Clark began as Lois patiently listened. "If we spin around the town saving people, someone's going to recognize us, meaning Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Me, I'm not as worried about, because no one knows me from Adam. You, on the other hand, have a picture next to your articles in the paper." Lois considered his point.

"You're right, Smallville." Lois's eyes sparkled mischievously. "We need, at least I need, a disguise. Something that allows freedom of movement, yet is something I would never wear in public as Lois. I've got it! We'll make a quick stop at Parkdale Mall."

They pulled up in the parking lot of the mall a bit later. Lois guided Clark inside, and they cruised at more or less normal human walking speed until Lois found what she was looking for. "Here we go, Smallville." Lois snickered as she hastily wrote something down on a piece of paper, handing it to him. "These are my proportions, knock your socks off!" Lois smiled as Clark reddened.

"Thirty Eight, Twenty Five, Thirty Six. Uh…Lois…you're not that large." He hesitated. "Aww! Thanks, Clark, and I thought that you hadn't noticed. Actually I included some padding to throw any witnesses off the track when describing me. Now scoot!" She slapped him across the buttocks.

"Are you sure about this?" Clark hedged, adding another shade of red to his face. "Yup! It's the only thing that I could come up with on short notice." Lois was clearly enjoying this. Clark reluctantly entered Jacqueline's Adult Lingerie Boutique, and began shopping around. Lois nearly doubled over with laughter as a pleasant and sexy young worker came up to him. "Can I help you?" She cooed.

Lois casually watched from a bench in the mall. After a few minutes, Clark returned with his purchase, discreetly wrapped, and brushed the sweat from his brow. A sweaty Clark Kent was always a bad sign. They walked out to the car and Lois opened up her 'costume's' box. "Perfect." She praised. Clark had picked out a royal blue teddy with bright red lace trim.

"Voila!" Lois smiled. "Meet the new red and blue blur. Did you bring the cape that you got as a souvenir from the Warrior Angel movie?" Clark nodded, unraveling the red cape and handing it to her. "Now for a quick change. Don't peek!" Lois teased as Clark covered his eyes.

Lois used her super speed to switch into the new clothes. In moments, Lois had donned the lingerie and fidgeted. "It is a bit loose." She commented. "How about a nice red sash to go with it?" Clark had opened his eyes and flushed. "Aha!" Lois spied a bright red decorative ribbon that had been tied to a promotional sign. She zipped over, pulled it off and tied it around her thin waist.

Don't fret, Smallville! I'll return it when we're done." Lois explained before Clark could protest. "One more thing…" She spotted a magic store near the end of the mall's parkway. She quickly zipped over, and bought a cheesy Mardi Gras type of mask, and tied it around her head.

"There we are." Lois was quite pleased with herself, though the store clerk was perplexed. "All that's left is the cape. Tie me up, Clark!" She exaggerated her voice purposely to tease him. Clark tied on the cape around Lois's throat, letting it flow freely. "What do you think?" Lois was half serious.  
"Well Lois, no one will be looking at your face!" Clark flirted, as Lois smiled brightly.

"Let's roll!" Lois said as she slipped a nice black dress over her outfit. A brightly colored teddy would attract too much unwarranted attention. "We're going to be a team, Smallville!"

Lois began as she finished the short drive into the Daily Planet parking lot. "We'll root out the bad guys, snap some photos, and bust the perps by handing them over to the Metropolis Police Department."

"It sounds simple enough." Clark replied warily. They parked the car, and Lois tossed on her light gray trench coat. Clark had donned a nice white shirt, blue tie, and dress pants, otherwise they'd stand out at the ritzy Ace of Clubs lounge. "The game is afoot!" Lois quipped as they flagged a cab.

After paying the cover charges at the swanky club, Lois and Clark grabbed a seat in a dimly lit corner across from the fancy oak wood horseshoe shaped bar. "Now what?" Clark pressed. "Now's the boring part. We have to stake out the place by sitting on our duffs, until something happens."

Lois responded as Clark nodded absently. A couple of hours later, nothing at all suspicious had happened. It looked like the night of the blur would be shot down in flames. Lois and Clark swapped a number of personal stories about each other. To anyone else, they appeared to be a normal young couple on a date.

Finally after 10 PM, as luck would have it, H K Mosuban walked into the bar with a small, armed entourage. "Bingo!" Lois gestured in Mosuban's direction as Clark followed her gaze. "What if he doesn't do anything wrong?" He asked pragmatically.

"Don't be so negative, Smallville." Lois countered. "He's a crook, of course he'll do something wrong." Clark sighed and relaxed. At least he was keeping Lois occupied and out of trouble for the moment. Mosuban was talking on his cell phone.

Clark was reluctant to overhear the business mogul's private conversation. The entourage, meanwhile, took up posts at four different angles from Mosuban. "See that Clark? They're moving into position!" Lois said excitedly as she sipped an overpriced imported beer.

"They're security guards, Lois, that's what they do." Clark reminded her. "Whatever, Smallville! Mosuban's waiting for someone, mark my words." Sure enough, a few minutes later, Rex Rowland and his miniature entourage showed up. "Here it is, Clark! Game on!" Lois took another lengthy sip of the beer. Clark wondered if Lois might very well be right.

He'd seen Lex operate in much the same manner. Now the alien superhero was intrigued. Rex and Mosuban shook hands and sat at a table near the bar in full view of each other's security detail. Clark's curiosity got the best of him, and he began to eavesdrop:

"That's right, Mr. Mosuban. The shipment arrives tonight." Rowland confirmed. "One hundred and eighty cases, that's correct." Clark faced Lois, making sure that the crime bosses and security guards couldn't read his lips. "There's a shipment of something coming in tonight." He spoke quietly to her. "What? How could you know that?" Lois 's eyes widened.

Clark pointed to his ears. "Superior hearing." Lois smirked. "Really? Remind me never to talk about you behind your back." She quipped. "Nice!" Clark frowned, taking her gibe in stride. "Well, what is it, Clark? Drugs? Guns? Stolen artifacts?" She asked excitedly.  
"Ssh!" Clark hushed her. "I might miss something." He went back to focusing on the crime lords' conversation. "Yeah, it's the latest model from Kajikistan." Rowland was explaining. "The AA13 will revolutionize the way we fight wars in the future." Mosuban listened, glancing around the room nervously.

"It's weapons!" Clark hissed angrily. "We've got them!" Lois grinned broadly. "Maybe!" Clark corrected. "Don't forget that they could be legitimate arms dealers." Lois snorted derisively. "Sure they are, and my Uncle Jack is really Miss America." Clark cast her a puzzled glance.

"Don't ask." She muttered. "Wasn't planning on it." He retorted playfully. "Here's the plan." Lois lowered her voice conspiratorially. "We'll follow them with our hyper speed and find out where the weapons are located. What kind are they?" She asked as Clark shrugged.

"Something called an AA13." He responded as Lois paled. "No! No freaking way!" She exclaimed, barely keeping her voice down. "What?" Clark asked worriedly. "The AA13 is based on an allegedly secret new weapon, created by our own wonderful government, called the AA12."

"The AA12 was in development a couple of years ago. It's at least ten times more powerful than an AK47 or Uzi. We're talking about a gun that can easily annihilate a standard car, turning it into a molten mess." Lois was horrified. "Clark, a one hundred and fifteen pound woman can fire it, with very little recoil. It's state of the art warfare technology."

Clark's mood darkened as he narrowed his eyes. "Enough weapons like that could upset the entire balance of power anywhere in the world. Mosuban and Rowland, and probably Lex as well, are selling this stuff to the highest bidder, I'd bet." Lois voiced the obvious: "We have to stop them."

Clark nodded. "But how, legally?" Lois grimaced. "Legally might not be possible, Smallville. Maybe we should tell Ollie? Did you catch anything else, aerial ears?" She teased. Clark refocused on the grim discussion. "Yes. The shipment…is at a cargo ship…The Montague Bay…in Metropolis harbor." Clark confirmed. "If we could catch them in the act, we can call the authorities."

Lois stared at him blankly. "It would be a bloodbath, Clark. Do you really think that the MPD has enough firepower to discourage Mosuban and Rowland?" Clark sighed, she's right. "What about the Feds?" Lois shook her head. "They're big government, remember? By the time that they cut through the red tape, the buy would've been made, and Mosuban and Rowland would be gone."

"We're going to have to take them out." Lois said with conviction. "This sounds like a job for superwoman!" Clark gasped. "Lois, we can't just kill them!" She grinned darkly. "Not kill them, Clark, simply stop them with a good amount of force."

"With our combined strength and speed, we ought to be able to locate the guns, and send them to the bottom of Metropolis Bay." Lois reasoned. "The Feds can scavenge for them after the fact, on their own time scale."

"It sounds easy enough." Clark began to give in. "Superwoman? Isn't that a bit over the top?" He teased her. "Deal with it, Smallville." Lois's eyes sparkled with delight. "Might I remind you that I'm the one wearing the teddy that's crawling up my…?"

"Another drink, Miss? Sir?" The charming, yet snooty, waiter asked them, interrupting the planning session. After he left, the banter continued. "You picked out the store to shop from." Clark playfully accused. "True." Lois admitted.

"Maybe I need a new outfit. Something less revealing, but more functional." She quipped. "Can we focus on the criminals, please?" Clark complained. "We don't know if you're bulletproof, I am, though lately I've wondered. Ever since we left Arizona I haven't felt up to one hundred percent power." Lois nodded. "We'll just have to move fast and avoid any stray ordinance."

Mosuban and Rowland shook hands and got up from the table. "Here we go!" Lois hissed as she hastily gulped down her beer. Clark finished his drink, just for show, because alcohol never really affected him. He admitted to himself that he was tired, though. That wasn't good at all.

Clark watched the security teams file out of the club alongside their bosses. He hated to admit it, but being out with Lois, and getting into this cloak and dagger stuff, made him happy. Maybe this whole blue and red blur thing would work out after all, he considered.

Clark paid the check and followed Lois out of the club and into the elevator. Mosuban, Rowland, and the guards were just a bit ahead of them. They had already made it downstairs and into the building lobby. "Ooh! This elevator's too slow." Lois complained. "We'd better not lose them!"

Finally, the doors opened and they watched from the concierge desk as the two crime lords led their teams in opposite directions. "They said 'midnight for the delivery.'" Clark repeated. "We should get there before them to run the sting." Lois contributed.

Clark heard two limousines leave the underground parking garage and a black SUV followed them at a slight distance. "Ready for a run?" Clark asked. "Not in these heels, Smallville!" Lois smirked as she removed her shoes. "Let's go!" The two superheroes dashed out into the night.


	3. Chapter 3:Superwoman & the Red Blue Blur

Chapter 22:

**Superwoman and the Blue Red Blur  
**  
Lois and Clark sped towards Metropolis Harbor. They located the ship 'The Montague Bay' and briefly staked it out. Soon the two limos pull up and the creeps enter the ship, walking up the boardwalk, guns drawn. Lois grabs pictures of the ship, it's name, it's crew, and the license plates of the limos.

"We need a distraction." Lois offers. Before Clark could protest, she speeds away. Shaking his head, he silently vaults atop the deck, and skulks around. Clark zips through the large freighter and uses his x-ray vision to locate the correct cargo.

He rips open a box filled with guns, and hauls out a few of the AA13 Assault Weapons. He snaps a picture of them, the delivery address on the crate, and one model number on a specific gun. A crewman catches him, and Clark decks him with a fraction of his power before he could sound an alarm. The crewman falls limply to the floor.

Lois strips to her teddy, and dives into the cold, clear water. She swims alongside the ship and climbs up the ladder, catching the crew by surprise. "Hi boys!" The drenched Lois flirts. "It's a beautiful night for a swim, isn't it?" Two of the goons smirk lustily and approach her, aiming their guns downward.

As soon as they're in range, Lois lashes out with a super powered kick, sweeping low against both goons' legs, knocking them flat. She gives each one a knee to the chest to keep them gasping for air. Lois kicks their guns off the deck and into the water. Now, the whole ship is alerted. Lois super spins to dry off, and continues on.

One guy fires a round at Lois from the highest deck near the Captain's Quarters. She quickly avoids the spray of bullets by zipping into hyper speed, and shows up behind the gunman. With a quick karate chop to the back of his neck, the gunman crumples to the creaking, wooden floor.

Clark runs into another crewman, and tosses him into a wall, knocking him out, but the action shakes the ship, alerting the rest of the thugs. Deciding to help Lois, Clark vaults up the stairs to the upper decks just in time to watch Lois physically throw a gunman through a nearby bulkhead.

"Nice!" Clark praises as Lois smiles brightly. "See, Smallville, having a superhero for a girlfriend definitely has its advantages." She flirts heavily. "Girlfriend, eh?" Clark echoes. "Oops! Did I say that out loud?" She reddens. A new spray of bullets from below and above them interrupted their moment of fun.

The two goon squads fire on them. All this gunplay attracts the Metropolis Coast Guard. Lois and Clark have to subdue all the criminals before they have a chance to attack the police. "I'll get topside!" Lois says excitedly, on a kryptonite infused adrenaline rush.

Clark dives off the upper level to the lower one, putting a huge dent in the ship's deck. He races towards the gunmen, deflecting bullets as he goes. One hits him in the shoulder, and he briefly feels it, but it doesn't pierce his dense alien skin. He doesn't expect Lois would fare any better.

Clark speeds into the middle of the pack, randomly tossing goons overboard, backwards onto the pier, and into bulkheads. In moments, his level is quiet and secure.

Lois is recklessly dashing along the upper deck, and tosses two creeps through cabin doors.

She comes across the final sniper, who has managed to grab a new AA13. He aims it at Clark, and fires before Lois could stop him. The intense blast of the AA13 impacts Clark, searing his clothes, and causes him to lose his footing, falling into the bay with a splash.

"Clark?" Lois yells, terrified that the new weapon had been too much for her intended beau. "You bastard! You killed my boyfriend!" She sidesteps a point blank blast from the AA13, grabs the weapon from the thug, and throws him off the top deck. It's unlikely that he would survive the fall. Lois had killed the criminal. She finally began to cry, as the adrenaline surge faded.

Clark had been stunned by the blast, recovering quickly. He jumps up out of the water, and saves the creep at the last second, catching the startled man before he hit the swell. "Where is she?" Clark demands, as the thug glances upward. Clark follows his gaze, and spies Lois on the top deck.

Clark climbs out of the water, and smacks the gunman in the forehead with the palm of his hand, knocking him out cold, and tosses him roughly onto the wooden pier. The police boat had been getting closer, though it seemed to be circling nearby waiting for backup.

Lois's heart beat faster and faster. It felt to her like the organ would explode from her chest. She gasped for air, taking in ragged breaths. Lois slumped over the rail, as the kryptonite wreaked havoc with her internal systems. "Clark?" She called out weakly, as her eyes began to shut.

Lois fell to the metal floor of the uppermost deck, the pounding of her own heart echoing through her mind. Everything went black. Clark pulled himself up onto shore, still dazed, but determined to reach Lois. The energy blast of the AA13 had taken a toll on him, as he stripped some pieces of melted cloth from his body. Once oriented, he gazed up, and didn't see Lois.

HK Mosuban pounded a meaty fist onto his SUV's dashboard. "Who could have done such a thing?" He asked loudly. His driver paled. They'd been following the progress of the delivery from a spot near the Metropolis Bay wharf. His rented warehouse, Number 51, was still dark and empty.

"I have no idea, Mosuban!" Rex Rowland said, via a cell phone, from another vehicle in the area. "The crew claims that they only saw two people, a woman and a man. The raiders seemed to come out of nowhere, in their words. The shipment will be confiscated by the Port Authority."

"I will not pay for undelivered merchandise, Mosuban." Rowland said angrily. "Neither will Lex, I assure you." The Middle Eastern business mogul grumbled. "Nor would I expect you to." Mosuban smiled evilly. He made the gesture of a throat being slit to his driver and another passenger. They gulped, understanding their leader's instructions. Rex and Lex were to be killed.

Clark doubled over briefly, before righting himself and heading back onboard the ship. In his condition, he probably couldn't move many of the cases of weapons. In the cargo bay, he decided to take a quick count on his way to the upper deck. "One hundred and fifty?" he muttered aloud.

"Where are the other thirty cases?" He mumbled into the darkened cargo bay. He was certain that Mosuban and Rowland had agreed on one hundred and eighty. Clark stumbled up the stairs at about half his normal speed. He searched deck by deck for Lois to no avail.

Back in the SUV, Mosuban received a phone call. "Yes?" He snarled. "We have a hostage." A disguised voice said. Mosuban was furious. "What do I want with a hostage? You fool, we've lost the entire shipment to the Americans! Kill him!" The voice coughed. "It's a she, and I don't work for you. Yet, I have something else you might want. Let's say thirty cases worth."

"Really?" Mosuban was skeptical. "Why would I believe you?" The disguised voice was deliberate and controlled. "It's not a question of you believing me. A fact is a fact. I have what you want, and if you don't want it, I'm sure I can find someone else who'll buy them."

"Do you know who you're playing with?" Mosuban snapped. "I'm not playing, Mosuban. This is no game. I want some financial consideration. The hostage is merely a bonus." The voice said calmly. "I'm nearby, but I won't tell you where until we have an accord."

"How many do you have?" Mosuban forced a calm into his voice, rechecking the caller's story. "Thirty cases." He replied. "And who is the woman?" Mosuban questioned. "I have no idea. She's cute, and has certain value where I come from." That told Mosuban a lot.

"I don't care about the girl." Mosuban began. "I will offer you one point four million for the remaining merchandise." The voice laughed. "Do not be insulting. I can get twice that in any gang's American black market like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles."

"Very well. Two point four million dollars, American." Mosuban offered. "That's a little better, Mosuban. I will give you half back now, for one million. The balance will be paid when I am safely back in my country." The voice continued. "Do we have an accord?"

"We have an accord." Mosuban said as he pulled up a schematic on his GPS of the local area. "Where are you?" He added. "We are near the ship." The voice chuckled. "No. Not now, not here." He stated boldly. "I will contact you tomorrow at 10 AM local. Have my money ready." He clicked off the phone. "How was that, Mr. Luthor?" A dark skinned middle-aged man asked.

"Very good, Captain Ngawa." Lex replied, as he recounted all of the weapons cases that they'd stolen from the ship. The Port Authority was already boarding The Montague Bay, as Clark searched for Lois. He was almost back to full strength, but she was nowhere in sight.

Clark zipped through the whole ship once more, but hadn't found her. He hoped that she hadn't fallen overboard, and somehow became unconscious. She still had her superior abilities to fall back on, but they weren't always useful, he recalled from personal experience.

Clark gambled on calling her cell phone. He listened for the particular ring. It wasn't on board the ship, that much was certain. He let it ring, focusing on it's unique frequency. The phone was across the harbor. He bolted off the ship, zooming past the Port Authority Police.

The Feds would take care of the illicit weapons. His concern was to find Lois. Clark also noted that he hadn't seen Rowland or Mosuban anywhere. They'd likely escaped, infuriating him even more. Clark sped towards the familiar ring tone. It was coming from a large tugboat.

"Where is this girl?" Lex asked Ngawa. "I am holding her in the engine room of my boat in the bay." The ship's Captain replied. "You don't know who she is?" Lex had his suspicions. "No sir, she was unconscious when we brought her aboard. She's valuable in my country." Ngawa repeated.  
"She's probably an American citizen, Ngawa!" Lex growled. "We don't want any trouble with customs if we decide to ship the weapons out of this country. I can stem the Port Authority's interest with a certain dollar amount, but kidnapping an American is out of the question."

"As you wish, Lex Luthor." Ngawa agreed. "We can simply toss her back into the bay, after dumping some whiskey down her throat. The police will assume that she got drunk and fell overboard." Lex dismissed him with a wave. "Do whatever you want. I don't need to know about it."

Clark followed the ring tone onto the tugboat and zipped down into the engine room. He tore open the steel door, and spied Lois lying on the floor. She'd been tied up and gagged. Obviously she'd lost her powers somehow, he imagined.

"Lois? Honey? Are you okay?" He asked hopefully, ripping the ropes and rags off of her. Clark picked her up and listened. Her heartbeat was very slow, and her breathing was ragged. He stepped back out of the engine room and was met by two angry looking sailors.

"I'm not in the mood." Clark shouted, in a rare bout of anger. He sped in between them, with Lois in his arms, knocking them off the stairs and onto the deck. Captain Ngawa was just arriving from the warehouse office that he and Lex had been sharing. "By the gods!" He exclaimed.

Clark vaulted high into the air, soared above the dock, and landed on a steel building's rooftop. He zipped as lightly as he could along the roof's peak. At the back of the building, Clark leapt over the parking lot, and into the center of a grassy, tree-lined parkway on the street beyond.

He noticed that Lois had stopped breathing. "No!" He yelled. "Lois! Come back to me!" Clark held her nose and breathed into her mouth, pounding lightly on her chest, performing CPR. "One, two, three…" Clark pushed down on Lois's chest. She gasped and coughed back to life.

He hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Hey now, Smallville…" She croaked. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time." She joked, coughing some more. Clark smiled with relief. "Did we get the bad guys?" Lois asked, her voice just above a whisper. "Yes, most of them." He replied.

Back on the dock, Captain Ngawa gawked as he watched Clark's shadow recede into the distance. "I'll be damned! Oh well, problem solved." He spat, and never mentioned what had happened to Lex.

Lois, what happened up there?" Clark asked, partially angry, and partially concerned about Lois's condition. "I've no idea, Smallville. I just passed out. The next thing I knew I was waking up in your arms, not that I'm complaining." She cooed.

"I think you overdosed on the kryptonite power surge." Clark analyzed. "Lois, you basically had a heart attack. You'd stopped breathing. I had to perform CPR." She carefully sat up. "Thanks, and here I thought that you were just getting fresh with me." She quipped.

"Lois, this isn't funny." Clark ruined her romantic mood. "I warned you that humans weren't meant to possess kryptonite super powers. The human heart can't take it for long." Lois sighed tiredly, as she considered his words. "I just wanted to help, you know, get the scoop." She defended.

"You can help." Clark began. "Think about it. How can you help me if you're dead?" He asked logically. "Great. Did we at least get the story?" Lois asked in a depressed tone.

"Yes, I've got the camera hidden near the dock. It's a good thing, too. That AA13 would've fried it."

"You have looked better." Lois teased as Clark helped her to her feet. "Said the woman in a soggy, filthy teddy." He returned the barb. "No problem, I'll just spin dry." Lois tried to turn, but succeeded only in making herself dizzy. "It looks like I have an energy shortage." She joked.

"The power outage could be caused by your body's rejection of the kryptonite speeders." Clark reasoned, suddenly remembering that he had their blue k rings in his torn and burned pocket. He was fortunate not to have lost them in all the excitement.

"Did the police ever come? We got all the bad guys?" Lois was all business again. "Will you take it easy, Lo'. You practically, no, you actually died a moment ago." Clark argued. "Don't be such a drama queen, Clark. I'm fine. Okay, let's grab the camera and get some shots of the Port Authority closing down the ship." He shook his head, but secretly admired Lois's persistence.

"Fine. I'll drive." He joked, scooping Lois up in his arms and zipping back to The Montague Bay. "We didn't get Mosuban and Rowland?" She asked with disappointment. "No. At least we stopped most of the shipment from getting through." Clark responded, as he set her down behind an aisle of unopened wooden crates across from the cargo ship, and admired the leggy beauty's form.

Clark used his super breath to blow Lois dry, and she slipped back into her black dress and trench coat, looking more like a Daily Planet reporter. She pulled the press badge out of one pocket and attached it to a lapel. Clark patched up his clothes the best he could to make himself look presentable. He took over the photo shoot, as Lois dug out her steno pad and pen.

"Darn it all! We'd have had 'em if I didn't suddenly go horizontal!" Lois criticized herself. "Don't worry about it. I don't think Mosuban and Rowland were anywhere near here when the buy was to go down. They had all of their flunkies take the risk." Clark informed her.

"You said most of the cargo was found?" Lois picked up on a part of Clark's story. "Yes. Fifty cases of the guns were already missing when we boarded her." He replied with disdain. "Really? That sucks! That means two things: Someone double-crossed Mosuban and Rowland, and the AA13's are still out there." Lois and Cark exchanged glances. "Lex!" They chorused.

Clark snapped some shots of the Port Authority walking the handcuffed perps down the gangplank. He also caught a few pictures of a fork truck backing a pallet full of weapons cases down the cargo ramp. The MPD showed up just then, and backed them away from the crime scene.

"Excuse me." Lois flagged a policeman down. "What happened here tonight? Would you care to comment?" The policeman shook his head. "All I can say is that the Feds put a gag order on us." Clark grabbed a shot of the dock in general as Lois grumbled: "So much for any details."

Dan Turpin walked up behind them. "Clark? Lois? How's it going?" She waved at the newly promoted detective. "Hey Dan! Any idea what went down here tonight?" Lois pressed. "We're not supposed to blab anything about an ongoing investigation." He replied. Clark pleaded with his eyes. "You've got nothing for us, Dan?" The detective glanced around worriedly.

"Word is that two gunrunners were busted. At least their minions were. You didn't hear anything from me, but the Feds are pissed. They had planned a two-year investigation on the perps. Now, there's little hope of knowing who's behind it." Both Lois and Clark reddened.  
"Thanks, Dan." Lois said pleasantly. "Oops!" She glanced at Clark sheepishly. "Yeah, oops!" He agreed with a scowl. The detective crossed the ubiquitous yellow crime scene tape and headed for the cargo ship. "Look at the bright side, Smallville. We stopped the guns from moving on, and saved a number of policemen's lives. You saw the hardware these guys were sporting."

"I can't argue with that." Clark gave in. "Good. We're in this together, partner, right?" Lois asked. "Speaking of which…" He fished around in his pocket for the blue k ring. "Didn't I hear something about a super powered girlfriend a while ago?" He flirted. "Or was that just the kryptonite buzz talking?" Lois reddened, though she was impressed that Clark faced the issue.

Lois swallowed her pride and answered. "No, that's what I said…and I meant it." She looked longingly into his eyes. Clark immediately kissed her passionately, and slipped the blue k ring on her finger. The lip lock lasted for a good long while, until Lois finally gave up, and separated from him.

"Wow! That's quite a kiss, Smallville. I'm impressed. In fact, maybe I'll have to stop calling you Smallville, and call you my plus one!" She rambled, taken in by the passion of the moment. "You'll have to spruce up a bit, if you're going to be my arm candy. Got that, flannel king?" Lois teased, though she closed in for a second lip lock session.

Clark hadn't come up with a witty comment, before he was lost in the second kiss. Lois's memories jumbled together, making her thoughts spin out of control. He smiled brightly as Lois wiped the lipstick off his face. "That's my lip gloss shade, not yours." She quipped.

"What's with the ring, Clark? In Kansas that doesn't mean we're married or something, does it?" Lois admired the custom made jewelry. "It's pretty. That's not a sapphire, is it?" Clark shook his head. "It's a sort of commitment ring." He lied unconvincingly. "If you want to, you know, start a relationship."

"Really?" Lois hugged him. "You know all the girls will be jealous." Clark cast her a puzzled glance. "What girls?" He wondered. "Duh, Clark! My cousin Chloe, Tess, Lana Loo, if she ever shows up in Smallville again, not to mention my new…uh…coworker, Catherine Grant."

"I don't know if I'm ready to use the 'R' word, though." Lois sighed. "Are you refusing?" Clark asked warily. "No. Not at all, it's just kind of a shock, you know. Awww! Come here."  
Lois kissed him a third time. "I'm not exactly an expert on relationships." She admitted after another lip lock.

"After my track record, Clark, cupid had to hang up his bow and arrow, and take up golf." He chuckled, but seemed out of sorts, like the close contact with Lois had messed something up. "How do you feel?" He asked her, worriedly.

Lois smirked. "I don't know, baby, you're doing the feeling!" She joshed, making Clark redden. "Tired and worn out, I guess." Lois continued after a moment. "It's like the past few days were a blur, and I've been on a drunken bender like the old days on the base." Clark considered that. Could Lois's kryptonite infection be subsiding?

Perhaps the blue k ring had produced the desired effect of inhibiting Lois's meteor rock exposure, he mused. There was only one way to be sure, he'd have to get Dr. Hamilton to check Lois out. For now, Clark continued to test her. "Lois, what do you recall about this evening?"

"It's not over, yet." She quipped. "It seems a bit hazy. We were on a date at the Ace of Clubs, we saw Mosuban and Rowland cut a deal, and we were here on a stake out of a cargo ship." Clark rubbed his square jaw. Did the blue k ring affect Lois's short-term memory? He wondered silently.

"How many drinks did I have before we left the club?" Lois asked. "A few." Clark answered, being deliberately vague. "Maybe my alcohol tolerance is low." She guessed. "That's a good thing, right?" Clark nodded. Lois's memory was definitely muddled up, he surmised.

Before they could discuss it further, Dan Turpin returned. "Okay you two love birds, while you've been making out on the dock beneath the moonlight, I've been working. I have a few more paragraphs for you, Lane, Kent." The pleasant but rough detective informed them.

"The buy was of stolen, illegal weapons." Turpin began as Lois hurriedly took notes. "We haven't found any major amounts of drugs, but according to some of the henchmen's bizarre accounts, I think they've been sampling their own merchandise."

"There were strange reports of flying girls, invisible attackers, a guy being shot and killed, then coming back to life. I think that they smoked or snorted their own dope." Turpin commented. Clark watched Lois for any signs of recognition, but saw none.

She continued to scribble notes on her reporter's steno pad. "Do we know for a fact who the big wheels were?" Lois probed, sounding like an experienced journalist. "I've got one name I can give you, that's all the Feds will part with for the media." Turpin responded.

"Captain Ngawa, out of Nigeria." Turpin continued. "This guy's a real sweetheart. He'll smuggle anything if the price is right, drugs, weapons, slaves, artifacts, and such. We know he was piloting The Montague Bay. Odds are he took it on the lam when we showed up."

"Okay. Thanks Dan." Lois said politely, completing her notes. "I guess that's about it, Clark. I assume you got some good shots for the cover story." Clark flipped on the digital camera, and ran through the melee photos with her. "Great, we're all set." Lois concluded.

Clark was still puzzled by Lois's lack of discussion about her super abilities. "What is riding up…?" Lois asked as she fidgeted. "Uh…would you excuse me for a minute, Clark?" She turned away from him and glanced down the front of her dress.

"Oh my god!" Lois gasped. Clark held back a snicker. "Is there a problem, Lois?" She cleared her throat. "No, I'm just a bit overdressed for the stake out. Shall we go?" Clark nodded and gazed at the dock scene, holding back any laughter.

_An old friend renews acquaintances with Lois and Clark_.

"Where's the car?" Lois asked, as Clark held her hand and guided her up the stairs from the pier. "Um…you don't remember?" He continued to test her. It appeared to him that the blue k ring had an unexpected side effect, short-term memory loss for humans.

"No. Please tell me that you're sober, and you know where it is." Lois put her arm around his back as they reached level ground. "Yes. It's parked next to the Daily Planet. We decided to cab it over here from the Ace of Clubs." He lied convincingly to her. This time it made his stomach hurt.  
"We'll have to hoof it to the main thoroughfare." Lois remarked. "About this ring…I accept your proposal…to be my plus one." She smiled brightly. Clark put his arm around her slim shoulders. He had mixed feelings about continuing his bed of lies to Lois, or blurting out the truth.

This paradox would haunt Clark for many days to come. For now, he decided to live in the moment and kissed Lois tenderly. They walked a few blocks toward Stanton Street, where a few stray cabs might cruise by. The squealing of tires nearby attracted Clark's attention.

Within seconds, everything changed. Two black SUVs, and another dark sedan surrounded them. Naturally, they were out of the police department's scope of vision. Stanton Street was dark, desolate, and hidden behind a row of warehouses. They were trapped. Clark stepped in front of Lois.

She quickly punched in 911 to her cell phone…it was too late. The clicking of guns was heard from each window of the vehicles. "Miss Lane, I suggest you put that phone away." A gruff, familiar voice said. "Derringer!" Lois hissed. "I'm flattered." The thug responded. "Don't move."

"What?" Clark was caught once again between risking Lois's life, and using his abilities in front of her. "Meet Tom Tommy Gun Derringer…" Lois began sarcastically. "Member of the Grambino Crime Family." Clark frowned. Would this night never end? He silently fumed.

"Actually Miss Lane, I've since severed my ties to the prominent local Family." Derringer continued. "Uh…Miss Lane…freeze! Hands please!" Lois raised her arms cell in hand. "Okay, relax Tommy Gun. I'm a statue." Lois had quickly hidden their digital camera in an uncomfortable place beneath her teddy. The mafia hit man hadn't noticed her slight of hand.

"You remember my buddies, Nickie the Knife Rosenfeld, Mattie No Nose Falconari, and Benny the Blade O'Brien?" Two thugs waved from the SUV's back seat. "Charmed, I'm sure." Lois grumbled. Clark made a quick twitch, but the gangster's eyes caught the movement.

"I wouldn't, Blue Eyes." Tommy warned Clark. "No heroics! Lane, if your boyfriend so much as moves a muscle, I'll splatter his brains all over your nice clean dress." Lois stepped in front of Clark. "Tommy, if you kill him, you'll have to kill me, too!" She snapped. "Lois!" Clark shouted.

"Ordinarily that's not a problem." Tommy sneered. "However my new boss wants to keep it friendly. He didn't say whether we had to bring you in to visit in one piece, just that we ought not kill you. How about that loyalty, boys?" Tommy mocked. "You just don't see that kind of devotion nowadays, especially not from a dame." The other goons chorused: "Awww!"

"What happened to your old boss?" Lois grilled. The gangsters laughed. "Fat Charlie? He took a midnight swim, and forgot to come back home." Tommy chuckled loudly. Lois gulped. "Yeah, well if you're planning cement shoes for me, I only wear Prada. They don't have a style in granite."  
The gangsters laughed at Lois's joke.

"Get in, sweetie. We can't just sit out here and chitchat all evening. After all, we're blocking the street. We wouldn't want to get a ticket or anything."

"You too, cupcake." Tommy ordered Clark. The young superhero was fuming, resisting the urge to smash all of the jolly mobster's faces in. He knew better. Now that he'd given Lois the blue k ring, she was not only powerless, but also vulnerable.  
The mobsters' orders weren't to kill them at the moment, which meant that someone in their organization wanted to talk, and get some information. Lois and Clark piled into the second SUV, driven by Nickie the Knife. Benny the Blade trained a large, long barreled revolver on them.

"So, what made you boys decide to switch your loyalties?" Lois continued to interrogate the mobsters. "Better pay, better benefits, and flexible hours." Nickie quipped as Benny snickered. "Word is that there's a new player in town. He has respectable businesses as well as, shall we say, our best interests at heart." Benny added, smiling grimly.

The dark vehicles drove for a brief time along the wharf, eventually stopping beside a dimly lit warehouse with foreign identification. Clark read it silently: 'Tropocall Imports & Exports' noting the intentional misspelling of Tropical. "Out, you two lovebirds." Tommy ordered.

"Boys, you stay here. I'll bring our paychecks out after I meet with the boss." Tommy directed, keeping his AK47 pointed at Lois and Clark. "The boss wants a little quality time with Lane here. What's your name, Blue Eyes?" He asked as they edged closer to the warehouse office.

"Clark Kent." He answered rigidly, aware of any upcoming opportunity to rescue Lois before things became even worse. "You're still expendable, so no funny stuff." Tommy commented as he led them to a standard rusty old office entrance door. "Open it, Lane."

Lois complied, and Tommy shoved them both through it. Of course, Clark allowed the mobster to push him for effect. "Up the stairs to your right." The hit man instructed. Lois climbed up the old metal staircase, with Clark trailing close behind. Tommy stayed below, AK47 in hand.

"Get in there!" He barked. Lois opened the door and gasped. Sitting behind the old weathered desk was…Lex Luthor! Clark's eyes widened at the sight of his old nemesis and former friend. "Lois? Clark? It's been a long time." Lex was actually surprised to some degree.

"Not long enough!" Lois hissed. Below, Tommy headed for a smaller office near the back of the partially filled warehouse. "Moxie? You got our checks?" Tommy banged on the door. "Don't worry, Derringer, you'll get what's coming to you." An unfamiliar male voice said.


	4. Chapter 4: Dancing with the Devil

Chapter 23

_Dancing With the Devil_

Guest stars - Lex Luthor, Perry White

"Come on Lois, this is a waste of time." Clark turned his back on Lex as Lois stared blankly at him. "This isn't a social call, Clark." Lex snarled. "Look at me!" Just then, Clark turned back around and noted that Lex's appearance had been slightly altered. "You have looked better." Clark said coldly.

Lex's face was reddened, tan, and seemed wider and older. His throat, neck, and shoulder had visible scars on them, as did his hands and forearm. The worst thing about Lex's appearance, in Clark's mind, was his former friend turned mortal enemy's eyes.

Lex's steel blue eyes seemed darker, colder, and haunted, like the living dead. "Where the hell have you been, Luthor?" Lois asked angrily. "Yeah, you've been gone almost two years." Clark agreed. "The last I heard you were chasing some bizarre character called the Traveler. How'd that work out for you?" Lex was briefly silent, staring daggers at him.

"It's an amazing coincidence that you dropped out of sight shortly after you killed your father." Clark accused, sending shivers down Lois's spine. Clark's tone was deadly, confrontational, and accusatory. She'd rarely ever heard him so angry. In fact, Lois recalled that the only other time she'd heard Clark be this menacing was when he'd found Alicia Baker dead.

Lois had barely stopped Clark from strangling Alicia's murderer, Caleb. "It's no coincidence, Clark." Lex growled. Clark felt his emotions rifling towards the surface. It was all he could do to restrain himself. He wanted dearly to go across the desk at Lex and rip him apart with his bare hands.

Clark shifted his gaze towards a concerned Lois. Seeing her helped to still his ire and calm his boiling rage. "By the way, that murder rap was never proven." Lex stated in his usual calm, deadly demeanor. "I know you killed Lionel, Lex." Clark stated, devoid of emotion. "He deserved better than that."

"That's your opinion." Lex argued. "As to my whereabouts…after the unfortunate death of my father, the LuthorCorp Board of Directors never trusted me again. They asked for my resignation, and reneged on my purchase of the Daily Planet. I transferred control of my investments to Tess Mercer." This didn't surprise Clark at all. "The legal fees for my indiscretions were enormous." Lex added.

"You ran away until the heat was off." Lois deadpanned. "I prefer to call it 'exploring my options'." Lex smirked, though the action seemed to cause him some degree of pain, as he winced thereafter. "Anyway, Mercy is quite capable and ruthless." Lex continued. "I knew my investments were safe with her." Praising his devoted protégé.

Lois shifted uneasily. "Mercy kept control of the paper until Perry White's investor firm bought it out from under her." She added bravely: "That still doesn't tell us where you've been, what you were doing, and why you've returned." Lex grinned thinly. "All in good time, Miss Lane."

Clark glowered at him. "Fortunately, my father and I have several 'safe houses' throughout the world." Lex remarked distractedly. Both he and Clark had heard some noise downstairs. "Why have you come back?" Lois pressed. "And what do you want with us?" Lex put down his revolver, much to Clark and Lois's relief.  
"I won't be staying long, Miss Lane." Lex said evasively. "By the way, congratulations on your promotion to Cub Reporter at the Planet, and to you Clark." Lois flushed. "I'm still just an average reporter, Lex." She retorted. "Hardly, Lois, hardly." His eyes narrowed as he complimented her.

"I see you and Clark have hooked up." Lex sniped. "I love that unusually colored ring. Clark, you're moving on, sans Lana. As am I." He threw in the dig. "Did you have a point?" Clark growled. "Sure, Clark. I just wanted to catch up with a couple of old acquaintances." Lex said, rubbing his damaged chin. "The doctors did some fine cosmetic surgery on me, don't you think?"

"I insisted that they restore the Luthor prominence to my jaw as well, after my unfortunate accident, but I digress." Lex frowned. "You two know what happened out there tonight, don't you?" he asked in his usual unflappable tone. "Out where?" Clark gave him a smartass answer.

"Lois and I were just out walking along the Bay when your goons picked us up." Clark baited. "You are such a liar, Clark, in fact, the king of liars!" Lex slammed both fists on his desk, making Lois jump. The revolver bounced up as well, and fortunately didn't fire.

Lex grabbed it with his slightly disfigured hand. "Don't toy with me, Clark!" He shouted furiously. "Where is the rest of my shipment?" Clark gave him his best innocent look. "Shipment of what?" he asked as Lois edged closer to him, unsure of exactly what to do next.

Lois was worried. Clark was purposely goading Lex into something. To her it seemed very unusual and un-Clark-like. "You know very well what shipment, Clark!" Lex yelled, picking up the silver barreled gun again. Clark stood directly in the path of Lex's shot, should he choose to take it.

"Actually Lex, we did see a lot of police activity near the beginning of the docks." Clark said in a purposefully even tone. "I would check with the Port Authority, FBI, or the Metropolis Police Department. I'm sure they'd be interested in talking to you." Clark's voice oozed sarcasm.

Lois stifled a grin. She'd never seen Clark so full of bravado before. It turned her on, but at the same time, she hoped that his stunt wouldn't get them killed or injured. "Fine! Go! Get Lost!" Lex pointed the gun towards the office door. "That's it?" Lois asked skeptically.

"What about your minions and underlings with the guns?" She was incredulous. Lex laughed raucously. "That's not my problem! Go!" He urged maniacally. Clark shrugged and said, "Okay. Bye Lex!" He turned and took Lois by the hand, guiding her towards the door and out onto the landing.

"Are you crazy, Smallville?" Lois protested. "Those guys are going to turn us into Swiss cheese." Clark led her down the stairs and into the empty, darkened warehouse. "See? No one's home." Clark said cynically. They made their way past the dimly lit cargo bays.

"Why didn't Lex kill us, or at least torture, or threaten us into revealing any information?" Lois was astounded. "Not that I'm complaining, but why go with the whole 'gangsters taking us for a ride' scenario?" Clark shrugged. "He was probably just trying to scare us into telling him about the bust. Lex was a borderline psychotic even before he killed Lionel. He looked completely unhinged."

"Apparently, killing us isn't in his current plan." Clark added. "I'm thankful for that." Lois began. "It still makes me wonder what he's up to." Clark felt a minor wave of dizziness pass. He was holding Lois's hand with the blue k ring on it. Suddenly, he switched sides, taking her other hand.  
"Maybe Lex isn't calling all the shots." Clark guessed as they headed across the open warehouse aisle closest to the exit. "If he signed over most of his estate and holdings to Mercy, he may have had to work for someone else." Lois considered that. "Mosuban? Rowland? It didn't seem likely." She said.

Lex suddenly slammed the office door behind them and followed along down the stairs and into the warehouse. Clark shoved Lois behind him, much to her objection. "Relax, Clark." Lex sneered as he pursued a parallel course from them, with a big black briefcase in his hand.

"If I'd wanted you two killed, you'd already be dead." Lex hurried past them as Clark heard a large splash in Metropolis Bay nearby. He wanted to investigate, but dare not leave Lois alone, even for a split second, especially now that her latent Krypto abilities were inhibited by the blue k ring.

Lois would have no way to defend herself, certainly not from any sort of weapon. Lex preceded them outside into the night. Dawn was slowly approaching as the first glints of sunlight appeared above Metropolis Bay's horizon. The Blue Red blur's first night was nearly over.

Out on the wharf, a black pick up truck peeled rubber and sped recklessly in the opposite direction from the police and port authority activities. "You have to love the Metropolis skyline just before sunrise." Lex appraised. "I have some urgent meetings to attend this morning."

Lex yelled back over his shoulder at them without ever turning his head. Clark noted a few more scars along the back of Lex's exposed neck. "I'll be back!" He threatened as he quickly stepped off a platform and into an awaiting black speedboat with a lone driver. The driver appeared to be female.

What's more, Clark swore that it was Tess. The boat sped off towards the center of the bay. Lois yawned after Lex and the mystery woman were out of sight. "I'm wiped." Lois stated, leaning heavily on Clark's broad shoulder. "We still have a story to get out by the late morning's edition." She added. "I hate to do this to you, Smallville, but can you type it up for me once we get back to the Planet?"

"Sure." Clark said as he watched Lois's eyelids grow heavy. "What about the pictures?" He asked. Lois smirked. "You'll just have to find where I've hidden the camera on my person." Clark reddened. He waited a moment until she was sound asleep, and snoring loudly.

Clark snickered quietly as he picked Lois up, and after checking the surrounding area with his extraordinary vision; he zipped them back to the Daily Planet parking lot. With Lois on one arm, Clark opened up her car and grabbed her laptop, which she'd secured in the trunk.

The earliest shift employees were just starting to pull into the parking lot. Clark quickly entered the paper's loading dock with Lois and the laptop in his arms. As luck would have it, no one saw them. He super sped them upstairs and carefully placed Lois in her cubicle chair.

Clark flushed as he located the camera beneath her teddy, and photo shopped the pictures into the article. He used his superior speed to type up all the details, remembering not to overload and burn up the keyboard.

He proofread it, and upon finishing, put the article on Perry White's desk, keeping a copy on Lois's hard drive. By now, the first shift employees had fully piled into the office.

Many employees glanced at Lois, shaking their heads. Catherine Grant pulled in around 8 AM, spying Clark seated in his cubicle. "I take it you're Clark Kent?" She extended a thin, well-manicured and tan hand. "Catherine Grant. Fashion-ista and Social Page Columnist."

Clark shook it, smiling pleasantly, but he offered no explanation for Lois's snoring, and the fact that she was wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday. Naturally, Grant noticed that. "I'm impressed." She glanced at Clark with approval. "You wore our little Lois out last night, didn't you?"

Clark said nothing, deciding to let Lois explain the incident later on in the day. Perry strolled in just then, as Catherine and the other employees scattered, leaving Clark to face him alone. "What the Sam Hill? You two pulled an all-nighter?" He asked gruffly as Clark nodded.

"The story is proofread and on your desk, Mr. White." Clark said cordially. "Is it? Now that's what I like to see, Kent, dedication." Perry praised. "Thanks, sir." Clark reddened. "Uh…after I okay the story, take Sleeping Beauty here, home, will you?" Perry continued.

"I can't have the other employees and fat cats seeing Lane lost in dreamland." Perry smiled broadly. "Understood." Clark nodded as Perry sauntered over to his office, shaking his head. About an hour later, Perry returned to Clark's cubicle. "How's the story look?" He asked his boss.

"The article is good, Kent." Perry eyed him suspiciously. "I'll be sure and tell Lois." Clark offered. "Clark, you wrote it for her, didn't you?" Perry questioned. "Yes. Lois was tired, so I stepped in to help." Clark replied. "How could you tell?" Perry smirked. "Because I didn't have to change any spelling! Good job. I like to see teamwork." Perry praised.

"I had Cat Grant post the article on-line at Daily . She didn't have much to do this morning. Most of Grant's reporting comes during the early evening." Perry explained. "You don't mind not getting a by-line, Clark?" He shrugged. "Like you said, we're a team."

Perry placed his hands behind his back. "You know, Clark, I'm starting to get a vision here." He sat on the edge of the slumbering Lois's desk. "I can't go to the brass until after the week's circulation returns are in, but I'm going to recommend that you and Lois be elevated to Senior Cub Reporters."

"Thanks, Mr. White." Clark silently wished that Lois had heard Perry's praise. It would certainly surprise her later on. "I'm seeing Lois Lane and Clark Kent, at the top of the news world. Their names synonymous with The Daily Planet." Perry boasted. "Is that too much pressure for you, Clark?" The young journalist shrugged. "We'll do our best."

"That's what I'm counting on!" Perry smiled. "What in the world did you do to this girl, Clark?" He glanced over at Lois, curled up uncomfortably in the cubicle chair. "Lois said that she hadn't been sleeping well. After we chased leads all last night, I guess it finally caught up with her."

"Take her home, Clark." Perry directed. "I want my new ace reporters refreshed and ready to work tomorrow morning." He shook Clark's hand. "Will do, chief, and thanks." Perry turned towards his office. "One more thing, Clark. This Red and Blue Blur, do you think we can get an exclusive on him?" Clark couldn't resist smirking. "What makes you think it's a he?"

Perry cast him a puzzled glance. "You can count on it." Clark playfully reassured him. "Count on an interview with the Red and Blue blur?" Perry confirmed. "Yes. I'll bet on it." Clark said confidently. Perry smiled. "That's what I like to hear, Clark."


	5. Chapter 5: Face of Evil

Chapter 24 - **Face of Evil **

Late the following day, Lois sat by the table in the Kent's kitchen, reading their Daily Planet story. Clark came downstairs without knowing what to expect from her. Lois was wearing one of Clark's infamous red flannel shirts. She glanced up from the paper, and sipped some coffee.

"Morning, Lois." Clark said playfully, since it was after 4 in the afternoon. "Morning, Smallville." She returned the gibe. Clark noted that she was still wearing his blue K ring. Had it been effective in muddying up her memory enough to make her forget about Clark's secret?

"Thanks for covering for me last night." Lois showed him the Daily Planet headline, which she read aloud: "Red and Blue Blur Helps on Weapons Bust, Stuns City." Lois sipped the steaming cup of coffee. "What do you think?" Clark asked her warily. "It's very good, Clark, catchy, in fact. I hope Perry agreed." Clark snickered as he grabbed some orange juice from the refrigerator.

"Actually, Perry personally approved the story, with the photographs." Clark sat next to her, still unsure of what Lois recalled from their bizarre evening. "Why didn't you ask for a by-line?" Lois sounded serious. "Like I told Perry, we're a team. It doesn't matter. Plus, he gave me credit for the pictures." Lois nodded absently. "How do you feel?" He asked worriedly.

"Like a truck ran over my head." Lois said, bleary eyed. "That could be because you bumped your head on the deck rail of the Montague Bay." Clark lied, though it felt horrible. "I did? I don't remember that." Lois stared at him blankly. "Maybe you should see a doctor, and have it checked out." Clark fished. "You never know about those things."

"I'm fine. Girl of steel, Army brat, remember?" Lois quipped. "Still, it pays to be safe." Clark urged. "Anyway, did you see this Red and Blue Blur?" She grilled. Clark was already getting sick of lying to Lois.

To him, it felt far worse than even lying to Lana. He desperately wanted to break this pattern of deceit. Instead, Clark caved. "Yeah, definitely. It was amazing!" He lied convincingly.

"You didn't get a picture?" Lois asked with disdain. "No, sorry Lois. I just missed the blur a couple of times. He or she was simply too fast." Clark gulped, as the hurt increased in the pit of his stomach with every word that he spoke. "Oh well, at least we got the story." Lois dejectedly sipped some more coffee.

"I'd bet that we haven't seen the last of the Blur, Lois. There'll be more opportunities." Clark said, distraught over her expression. Lois was silent, never a good sign. "I do have some good news that might cheer you up." Clark flashed her a bright smile. She gazed at him strangely.

"What would that be?" Lois prodded. "Perry wanted to tell you himself, but you were crashed out." Clark teased, as Lois grew more attentive. "He has to get approval from the powers that be, but he said that he's willing to elevate us to Senior Cub Reporters." Lois's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Clark was glad to see her smiling again. "That's great news, Clark! I can afford my own place in the city!" Lois was so excited, that she'd completely forgotten about their budding relationship. "Oh, yeah. That's good, isn't it?" Clark asked depressingly. Again, he would have to sacrifice his feelings for Lois's benefit. _This is starting to suck_! He mentally grumbled.

Lois finally realized how that sounded, as Clark got up and rinsed out the coffee mugs, and orange juice bottle. "I mean, um…our place in the city?" Lois asked uncomfortably. Clark couldn't face her at the moment. He went on cleaning the counter, and tossed the rag into the sink basin.

He stopped cleaning and sat back down across from her. "Lois, I don't want to push you into anything that you don't want to do. If you want a place of your own in Metropolis, then go for it. After all, it's what you want, isn't it?" Lois was getting teary eyed. "It's not all about me, Clark." She said.

"Lois, don't worry about it." Clark's tone was flat and emotionless. "It makes perfect sense for you to get a place in the city. You'll save money on gas for the commute, you'll save time getting to and from work, and as we said earlier, Metropolis is where the action is."

"What about you, Clark? What do you want?" Lois choked back another tear. "I hate it when I get all emotional like this." She muttered. "I'm not sure, yet Lois." Clark actually felt that it was an honest reply. "I'll still see you every day at work, and you're welcome here anytime at all."

Lois wasn't sure what to make of his response. "You're blowing me off?" She asked hurtfully. "No Lois, it's not like that." Clark tried to rescue the impossible situation. "If it's what you want, then do it. I'll help you pick out a place." Lois took a breath. That resolution seemed to satisfy her.

"I have to run the farm as well." Clark defended. "People do count on our limited supply of food goods. Eventually, I'll probably sublet the farm to a neighbor, and move into the city, too." Lois was starting to relax. Maybe this is the correct decision at this time, Clark mused.

We can always change things later, he justified. "Okay, Smallville, that's it then. I'm getting a condo in the city." Lois decided. "Great!" Clark forced his attitude to be positive. "It has its good points." Lois began. "Like you mentioned, I'll save on travel expenses."

"Just think, Smallville, no more lady's unmentionables plastered all over the house, no more borrowing your clothes, or snoring in front of the television." She quipped. Clark painfully smiled. Those were some of the things I liked, he silently admitted.

Chloe called a bit later to congratulate them on the headline story. She talked to Clark first, just long enough for him to fill her in on the details. Lois got on the cell next, boasting to her younger cousin about the possible promotion.

They went out to dinner in Metropolis, and began to search together for a condo. Fortunately, there were a number of options available. Clark noticed that Lois still hadn't taken off the blue K ring. That told him something, he rationalized. Lois cared.

Within a week, they'd picked out a condo not far from the Daily Planet. Clark, meanwhile, sadly separated he and Lois's things. Lois piled her clothes, record albums, and personal effects into her luggage and some cardboard boxes. They loaded up her car. "I guess that's about it, Smallville." Lois said bravely, though her emotions were in turmoil.

It's for the best, Clark thought, still trying to convince himself that the change was necessary. Lois hugged him, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Everything was about to go back to normal, Clark mused, but was it truly for the best? Only time would tell.

After getting Lois settled, Clark went back to the farm, and into his barn loft. He gazed out over the land, appreciating the setting sun, and spent time trying to convince himself that it would all work out in the end. This time he failed. Clark was alone, again.

Clark felt terrible as he wandered back into the house. Other than Shelby / Krypto's padding feet, the ranch house was silent. He absently patted the family pet's head, and flipped on the wall telephone's voice mail. A message had come in about a half an hour ago.

"Hey Smallville! I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you." Lois's recording said. "The condo we picked is working out just fine. I've checked and double-checked all of the security systems and utilities. I'm still sorting through my stuff…gotta go, someone's at the door."

The recording clicked off. Clark was glad that Lois was satisfied with the condo. Suddenly, he felt odd, like something was out of place. "Wait a minute…" he voiced his concerns aloud. "We haven't told anyone but the condo owner that Lois has moved in…so who was at the door?"

Clark chastised himself for being overly paranoid, but he felt as though he needed to check it out, if only to ensure a good night's sleep. He locked up the house and zipped into Metropolis. As he entered the newer building…it was a three-story condo conversion…Clark spied Lois's door wide open.

He sped upstairs and peered in. "Lois? Are you decent?" Silence. The lights were off. Clark flipped them back on…the condo was in disarray. There had been a struggle…blood splatters dotted the formerly pristine light gray carpeting. "Damn it!" He yelled, and dialed 911. Next, he tried Lois's cell phone. Unfortunately it rang in the living room beside her couch. He picked it up, pocketing it.


	6. Chapter 6: Blurred Vision

_I am chaos, I am darkness, I am evil personified._

Chapter 25: **Blurred Vision**

Lois answered the door, and a strange, dark skinned middle-aged man glanced behind him. "Yes? Can I help you?" She asked warily. He shoved Lois back into her condo, knocking the startled reporter across the old coffee table that she'd borrowed from Clark.

Without a word, the intruder attempted to zap Lois with a stun gun. She avoided the thrust and somersaulted sideways, and in a moment was back on her feet, assuming an attack position. The assailant charged her again, and Lois countered his advance with a vicious roundhouse kick to the jaw. His lip split with the force of her blow, and began to bleed.

The thug didn't give up, repositioning himself between Lois and the condo exit. The stun gun, Lois's cell phone, and a fairly sharp box cutter, all lay on the floor behind her new couch. Both had the same idea. Lois dove to the right, managing to grab the box cutter.

The attacker followed her lead, diving to the left and picking up the stun gun. They retreated briefly to opposing sides of the couch. Lois feinted to the left, instead leaping across the couch, box cutter in hand. She sliced the creep's exposed forearm, causing him to yowl and curse vehemently.

Lois rolled across the floor again, and popped up into a standing position. Refusing to relent, the marauder again thrust the stun gun at Lois, barely missing her leg, as she spun away from him. Lois yelled at the top of her lungs for help. Unfortunately, the condo had been soundproofed.

The furious goon again charged Lois. She sidestepped him and sliced him under the chin, nearly nicking his throat on the way down. If she'd hit the main artery in his throat, the attacker would've likely bled to death. This time, Lois was in position to run out the door. She took advantage of the moment…

Only to run smack into two more creeps at the top of the stairs. Lois was trapped. One of the creeps had a gun pointed at her head. She was out of options. The three goons had a heated discussion in their native language, which Lois couldn't identify. It sounded middle-eastern to her. There was a sharp blow to the side of her head, Lois's vision blurred, and all went black.

Clark angrily waited for the police to arrive. This is taking too long, he mentally grumbled. He called Chloe, Perry, and even Tess Mercer, and informed them that Lois had been kidnaped or worse. The real shot in the dark was Tess. Clark had no idea whose side she was on. He assumed that she was self-serving. The police finally arrived and questioned Clark.

After a few moments, his cell phone rang. "Hello?" He hadn't recognized the number. It was from another cell phone, in a different area code. "Mr. Kent?" A deep and obviously disguised voice asked. "We have something very valuable to you. If you want it back, we'll need you to get something of value for us. No police, or she's dead. No newspaper stories, or she's dead."

Clark zipped outside and down the block. "What do you want?" The voice hesitated. Clark strained his hearing to check for noises in the background. Seagulls, a forklift truck, a speedboat, and a number of angry male voices made their way through the call. The dock! Clark guessed.

He sped back to the wharf that they'd been at last week, where they met Lex. "We require the balance of the shipment that your port authority seized last week." The voice continued after a few seconds.

"How am I supposed to get it? It's not as if I can just walk into the evidence lockup and take it." Clark stalled as he vainly searched the docks' warehouses one by one.

"That is not our problem. Either you comply or Miss Lane will die." The synthesized voice continued. Clark focused his hearing on that specific call. A dingy bell rang nearby. They were out in the bay!

Clark took a breath and cranked his hyper speed up to full strength, literally running across the tops of the relatively calm Metropolis Bay waves. He'd seen Bart run that fast, but he'd never truly attempted it before. Three ships loomed ahead of him. He'd have to pick the right one.

The trick was to investigate all three ships without arousing any suspicion. "Why are you holding Lois? She's done nothing to you!" Clark kept the kidnapper on the line. "It is not about Miss Lane's guilt or innocence. It is about retribution. Goodbye Mr. Kent." The criminal clicked off the phone.

Clark boarded the first ship, and zipped through it, finding only the crew. He dove off it and into the bay, swimming at full speed to the next ship, and vaulted up over the railing. This time he was visible, and two of the crew stared at him blankly as he landed, soon zipping into hyper speed.

The crewmen rubbed their eyes and shrugged, going back to their work on a fisherman's net. Clark searched this ship to no avail. He sped over to the last ship, and scored a minor victory. Two guards patrolled the upper deck with automatic weapons. Bingo! Clark thought sourly.

_On board The Daemon Be_:

Clark x-rayed the entire ship, finding six female crewmen or prisoners. He spun downstairs into a cargo bay where two of the women were. They were tied up, bound and gagged. Clark didn't know them, but freed them all the same. He sped away, shocking the women.

He moved on to the next woman. She was cleaning a floor in the hallway outside of some crew cabins. He ignored her for the moment. She appeared to be in no imminent danger. Clark located the last two women. They were in a far corner of the ship, in a dark deserted area. Three guards were at a card table nearby playing poker.

He entered the dark cabin where the women were tied up and gagged. "Lois?" He whispered. A muffled outcry rewarded his search. Clark untied both women. Immediately, Lois yelled. "It's a trap!" Two goons had entered the cabin behind him. The second woman cried repeatedly.

One guard flipped on the light. He pointed an automatic rifle at the strange woman. The second goon pointed a large caliber revolver at Lois. "Gotcha!" He growled. How could this be a trap? Clark wondered. Supposedly, no one knew where he was.

Clark had to plan this escape very carefully. There seemed to be only one option. Using hyper speed, he smashed the overhanging light bulb, plunging the room into darkness. Instinctively, Lois rolled to the ground, and the strange woman slid away, hiding in a corner. Two shots were fired from the revolver. Clark grabbed them both.

The creep with the automatic rifle had spun the wrong way, shooting and killing his partner in crime. A third thug called someone on the inter-ship phone, before venturing out of his room into a new hiding spot beneath the metal stairs leading to the next deck. He pulled out a revolver.

Clark grabbed Lois by the hand, and pulled her out into the dimly lit next cabin, untying her in the process. "How'd you find me, Clark? I thought that I was a goner." She asked. "We'll discuss that later, we're not out of the woods, yet." Clark went back into the room and led the other woman out.

Lois hid behind a large mahogany wood desk. The third goon hadn't yet gotten a good sight line to fire on them. Clark escorted the strange woman to Lois's place of concealment. "Now what, Smallville?" Lois edged behind him. "There's still a third gunman out there." He informed her, verifying that with his x-ray vision.

"Who's behind all this?" She questioned. "My guess is that someone, namely Mosuban, didn't like our article on the weapons bust last week." Clark replied. "And you are?" He glanced suspiciously at the other woman. Before she could answer, a new male voice seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"That is my niece, Katja Mosuban-Khan." HK Mosuban said from somewhere behind them. "Thank you, Katja. You may go." The crime boss instructed. "You could've gotten your niece killed." Lois complained. "If you have a problem with us, come right down here and face us." She dared him.

Katja slipped away. Clark had briefly considered taking her as a hostage, but something told him that Mosuban was so ruthless he'd have probably had her killed just to get to them. Still, a number of things just didn't add up. "Katja is not afraid to die, Kent. No one in my organization is."

"What do you want?" Clark asked angrily, edging closer to Lois. "I told you that I couldn't get a hold of your shipment. By now the American government has impounded it. We're of no use to you." Mosuban was briefly silent. Clark x-rayed the area and saw a group of men splitting into two groups, effectively surrounding them. This is going to be tough, Clark began planning their escape.

"I beg to differ, Kent." Mosuban bravely led his men towards their position. "You are of extreme value to me. Miss Lane, not so much." The crime lord hinted. "Unfortunately, now that I have you, Miss Lane is collateral damage." Clark gulped. "What's so interesting about me?"

"Don't be so modest, Traveler." Mosuban was close enough for Clark to see his sneer. Lois gave Clark a blank look. He shrugged, silently wishing that she still had her latent Krypto powers for protection. "Oh yes, I know all about you. Miss Mercer was good enough to fill me in, before I ordered her death." Clark was furious. He'd never trusted Tess, but certainly didn't want her to be killed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Clark was still working on a plan. "Tess Mercer was no friend of mine." He checked on the positions of the advancing gunmen. Lois was holding back a sob, trying to remain strong. She considered sacrificing herself to save Clark, yet wasn't sure that it would work. "Lois, we're going to have to make a run for it. I don't see any other option."

She nodded, recognizing Clark's serious, menacing tone. Before anything else happened, Lois grabbed Clark and gave him a big, wet, sloppy kiss. "Thanks." She said. "For what?" Clark whispered. "For being such a good friend…uh…and I love…" Lois's pledge was interrupted by gunfire up on a higher deck. "See what that's about!" Mosuban directed a nearby guard.

"Now!" Clark grabbed Lois, and dashed at a right angle away from the two sets of gunmen, and Mosuban. He shifted into hyper speed, and Lois had no idea what was going on. Clark kicked in a door, as it sailed across the deck. He shifted Lois in front of him, shielding her from the gunfire. A few rounds bounced harmlessly off his back.

A major gun battle was waging on the upper decks. Clark slowed to normal speed, choosing to hide Lois behind a bulkhead. "Wow! Are you fast! How in the…?" She began, wide eyed. "It must be an adrenaline rush." He replied lamely. "Any more ideas? Like who's working the shooting gallery on the upper decks?" She asked. "It could be the Port Authority or the Coast Guard." He offered.

"Now what? Do we hide out until the shooting stops?" Lois wondered. "That sounds like a plan." Clark agreed, keeping an enhanced eye out for any gunmen. "Do you really believe that Mosuban knocked off Tess?" Lois's reporter instincts kicked in again. "I hope not. Maybe Mosuban was bluffing?" Clark made conversation, trying not to let Lois dwell on what she'd just seen.

"Are you okay?" Lois asked, inspecting Clark's back. "No one used you for target practice? I swear that I thought a few rounds hit you. What's with the burn marks on your favorite red jacket?" Clark gulped. Lois was far too observant, even under this kind of pressure. "That must be grease from one of the bulkheads." Clark lied constructively.

The shooting was starting to die down. "I wonder who won?" Lois asked cynically. "Let's check it out." He urged, carefully poking his head above the cargo bay entrance door. Clark x-rayed the area. Many people were down, with minor to life threatening injuries. Some probably died.

He focused his hearing, but only picked up a few stray guns firing, and some running footsteps on the metal decking. "Let's see where we're at." Clark gestured for Lois to crawl beside him, keeping his body between her and the rest of the ship. They made their way to a lifeboat. Clark quickly inspected the boat for damage then casually ripped the ropes off of it when Lois turned away.

"Time to go." Clark said suddenly shoving her into the lifeboat and dropping it into the bay. "Wait! What if…?" Lois's protests were drowned out by nearby gunfire. Lois landed roughly in the water, seated uncomfortably in the lifeboat. Clark had purposely avoided joining her.

He only had seconds to stop all the weapons fire before anyone noticed the splash from the escape pod. Clark zipped through the ship, knocking thugs out one by one. He retrieved every gunman's weapon and tossed it into the bay. Clark returned to the starboard side to check on Lois.

She was furious, but fine. The boat that had started the gun battle was on the port side of Mosuban's ship. It wasn't a Coast Guard, Port Authority, or Police boat. Clark guessed that someone else had been after Mosuban and attacked him and his crew. Soon, the true authorities would board the ship.


	7. Chapter 7: Sympathy for the Devil

_I am chaos, I am darkness, I am evil personified._

Chapter 26: **Sympathy For the Devil**:

A nearby clapping of hands briefly marred Clark's victory. "Well done, Traveler!" Mosuban praised, this time he was completely alone, which made Clark immediately suspicious. "I wasn't sure how good you really were, Kent." Mosuban gloated. "You'll find I'm full of surprises." Clark threatened.

"Some advice, Mosuban." He stalked towards the business mogul. "Whatever you know, or you think you know about the Traveler, forget about it. Everyone involved has paid a heavy price for their foolishness." Clark's eyes narrowed. "Nice bravado, Kent! I've got some surprises for you as well."  
Mosuban didn't back down as Clark advanced on him.

The middle-eastern business mogul seemed to suddenly lose his foreign accent. Mosuban, or Mobus Khan, was a fake, a phony alias, Clark assumed. Sensing that Lois was in danger, he zipped past Mosuban and out onto the bright, sunny mid deck. He dove into the bay and came back up beneath Lois's lifeboat. She hadn't been able to row very far.

Clark dragged the boat across the bay, towing it alongside a Coast Guard Cutter, without revealing his presence to Lois. She glanced around suspiciously, but saw no one. The Guardsmen hauled Lois on board the red and white NCG1720 cruiser, and she rapidly related her story. It would take them a while to verify it, of course. A young, pretty official with long reddish brown hair watched closely.

Officer Angelique Santana helped Lois dry off. She recognized the reporter from her picture in the Daily Planet. "Miss Lane? Are you okay?" the pleasant young officer asked with concern. "Fine, thanks! My boyfriend is still trapped on the ship with those madmen! We need to do something!"

Immediately, the Coast Guard Cutter turned on its siren and headed out towards the breakwater. Clark swam back to Mosuban's ship, the Daemon Be, and vaulted on deck. He had to find out what the crime boss was truly up to. Khan was standing in plain sight, like he was awaiting Clark's return.

"You'll have to kill me Clark, or should I say, Kal El." Khan challenged, without turning around to face him. "Where did you hear that name?" Clark grilled. "I told you that Tess Mercer offered me the Traveler information before I ordered her death." Mosuban's story had changed a bit. Clark hoped that Mercy was truly still alive, despite her obvious connection to Lex and the Traveler debacle.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Clark snarled as Khan swirled to face him. The crime lord looked substantially different from their conversation a few minutes ago. His hair was dark gray, his eyes pitch black, and his skin tone had taken on a reddish brown hue.

"I am chaos, I am darkness, I am evil personified. I am something that you can't possibly understand." Khan boasted, as he rose to a slightly taller posture than earlier. "Try me!" Clark challenged, as he circled in closer towards him. "Kal El! You should keep your arrogance in check." Mobus Khan challenged. "Did you truly think that you were the only super powered being to encounter Earth?"

Mobus straightened to his full height, about a foot taller than Clark. His skin had turned a dark red, and two silver horns protruded from each side of his elongated head. Clark's eyes widened, but he refused to let fear take hold of him. Keeping and open mind, Clark tried to keep Mobus talking.

"I know that you're really full of yourself!" He taunted the demon-like being. "I've come across other beings with unusual abilities." Clark said calmly. "Where are you from?" Mobus was caught slightly off guard by Clark's patience. "You keep your fear under control, Kal El, admirable." Mobus praised cautiously. "I am from another realm." The bizarre creature admitted.

"Why are you here?" Clark grilled. "I simply exist." Mobus said evasively. "Eons ago my people walked the Earth. There were but two races of humans. Those that follow the light and those that follow the darkness." Clark was fascinated, but Mobus was still dancing around the subject.

"You haven't answered my question." Clark threw down the gauntlet. "By your constant interference, Kal El, you have upset the balance of power. In our realm, the two opposing forces must remain in balance." Mobus explained patiently. "You mean good versus evil." Clark stated.

"Yes. By saving people and stopping killings, you are playing God." Mobus snarled. "I'm not particularly religious." Clark defended. "People should believe what they wish to believe." Mobus laughed gruffly. "A typical naïve response, Kal El." He continued. "We don't want you here." The creature accused. "A balance must be achieved."

"Yeah Mobus, well, I am here, and you'll have to deal with me." Clark responded angrily. "The world that I know isn't so black and white. What about all of the people that are neither good nor evil, and just want to get through their daily lives, happily and without controversy?"

"You are a fool, Kal El!" Mobus snapped. "The people you love so well will one day turn against you, as they did me, and my kind." Clark considered Mobus's point, but ultimately decided that his view was too narrow-minded. "I have faith in my people." Clark countered.

"Your people are dead, Kal El. This is not your home!" Mobus stalked closer to Clark. "You're afraid of me!" Superman said confidently. "That's ridiculous! I fear no one!" Mobus was ready to make his move, and Clark assumed his attack position.

Lex Luthor reluctantly ordered a retreat from his attack on Mosuban's ship. Tess Mercer stood by his side, none the worse for wear. "We have to cut our losses, Mercy." Lex stated in his usual overconfident tone. "We'll have to settle for the fifteen weapons cases, and sell them on the black market. Either Mosuban or Rowland can have the rest of the remaining cases."

"Fine with me, Lex." Mercy sighed tiredly. "That nut ball Mosuban almost killed me yesterday. I know for you that would be an acceptable loss, but it wouldn't have worked out so well for me." The sexy Tess sat on the edge of Lex's desk, fiddling with a large silver dagger. Lex eyed her worriedly.

"Tess, you know that you're more valuable to me than that." Lex sucked up, realizing that he hadn't any true friends or lovers left. "That's why I sacrificed the twenty or so employees to rescue you. I would've sacrificed a hundred or a thousand more." Mercy reddened. "Awww! Thanks, Lex."

He ordered Captain Cimmaron to leave Mosuban's ship alone, and head back to its slip. Lex's yacht, The Stallion, pulled into a dock near the original dingy warehouse that Lois and Clark had been caught in last week. Lex watched as the dockworkers unloaded a few pallets of the weapons cache onto his yacht.

"Next stop, Fiji, my love." Lex kissed Mercy tenderly. "We'll take a well deserved vacation, complete some sales, and return victoriously back to Metropolis soon." He spoke quietly into Tess's ear. "You're coming back to run LuthorCorp?" Mercy was shocked.

"Yes, my dear. Only this time, you'll be the figurehead, and I'll be the man behind the curtain." The NCG1720 cruiser pulled alongside the Daemon Be, after calling their home port for back up. The guns had all gone silent, and the crew lie either dead or dying, as the brave Guardsmen began to organize ship-wide boarding parties. Medical teams would follow.

Officer Santana stood beside Lois, holding her back slightly. "Let us do our job, Miss Lane." She urged, attempting to distract the distraught journalist. "You guys! These creeps have automatic weapons and The Lord knows what else on board. You'll be outgunned! It'll be a slaughter!"

"The Lord works in mysterious ways, Miss Lane." Officer Santana said as Lois gaped at her. "I'm from a religious family." Angelique explained. "I just came to Metropolis recently from Coast City. I was part of the Department of Domestic Security task force. I requested a transfer."

Lois nodded, wondering why anything the pleasant young guard said was relevant. "That's a beautiful ring, may I see it?" Angelique asked politely. "Sure, here." Lois handed her the blue k ring. Angelique placed it above her, gazing upwards at it. The gem caught some direct sunlight. The ring suddenly displayed a prism of bluish hues. Lois felt as if she had just received a major power boost.

"Clark needs my help!" Lois announced, and suddenly vaulted straight up and over the Daemon Be's railing, landing smoothly on the deck. Instead of being surprised or shocked, Angelique watched Lois, smiling confidently. It was then that Officer Santana shimmered out of sight!

Suddenly time seemed to stop. A strangely dressed man, his face covered by a gold mask, wearing a black cape, and silver outfit, and a handsome man of about thirty stood shoulder to shoulder. The world seemed to be literally passing them by, like a river current splitting its course around a huge boulder.

"You see my problem, Mr. Nelson." The handsome man began. "Yes, Michael, I do. Kal El is not of this world. Yet, he accesses unimaginable power." Nelson replied. "Our concern is that Kal El will one day rule this planet, taking it as his own." Michael added. "You, of all beings, Michael, should understand the importance of faith." Nelson grinned thinly.

Suddenly Officer Santana appeared beside them. "Kal El is not really the issue, if I may be so bold." Angelique pointed out. "Lois Lane is. She belongs to this world, but now possesses nearly identical power to Kal El." Michael nodded, as his lengthy golden hair unfurled. "I believe Miss Lane must give up these powers, or it will corrupt her eternal soul." Michael commented. "I agree." Nelson confirmed. "I'll see to it." They all disappeared.

"Ascende!" Mobus yelled, extending his hulking reddish brown arms from his sides. The creature hovered about a foot above the deck floor. "If you will not relent, and stay out of my way, then I must eliminate you." Mobus said cockily. Clark readied his mind for battle. Talk is cheap, he mused.

"Inflammato!" Mobus yelled, and two softball-sized fireballs left his hands and impacted Clark in the chest, knocking him through the railings, as he tore through the cabin's walls, and fell to the deck below. Clark sat up, shaking his head. Mobus, whatever he is, packs quite a punch, he observed.

Clark stood and zipped right back into Mobus's room, waylaying the creature with a vicious right hook. Mobus spat black blood as he sailed through the next cabin, and into the captain's quarters. This ought to be fun, Clark thought, thoroughly enjoying the challenge of decking Mobus.

Mobus flipped quickly onto his hind legs, and came at Clark with a one-two combination set of punches which knocked Clark up through the ceiling briefly, only to land right back down and get in Mobus's face. "Is that all you got?" Clark challenged, wiping a small trickle of blood from his nose.

Before Mobus could answer, Lois sped in, jumping between him and Clark, and landed a vicious roundhouse kick to the creature's face. It's neck snapped back, and spun around, before spinning back into place. "Lois!" Clark shouted. "Get out of here! You're going to get hurt!"

"Inflammato!" Mobus growled, hitting Lois in the stomach with a full blast of fireballs. She flew backwards into Clark, and they both fell onto the ship's next deck. Lois was out cold, but thankfully Clark's body had broken her fall. She'd likely have a concussion, but survive. The burns had not affected her skin, merely singed her clothing.

Clark was dazed, carefully shifting Lois off of him to the side. Mobus seized the opportunity for another attack, diving from the captain's deck down towards Clark, both fists extended in an uncontrolled rage. Clark flipped back up onto his feet, from the deck to face the full brunt of Mobus's assault. He charged Clark, eyes blaring red, and still oozing black blood from his nose, ears, and throat.

A bright light blinded him as a golden white image placed itself between Mobus and Clark. The image formed into a solid being dressed in white, gold, and light blue. "Hold!" a definitely feminine voice shouted. "It is you who doesn't belong here, Mobus." The woman stated calmly.

She held up one thin hand, and Mobus slid to a stop inches away from her upraised palm. "You will return to your realm of despair, Mobus." The woman ordered. "Who are you to order me around?" Mobus complained. "You know very well who I am. It is you who are interfering in this world." The woman explained. "Kal El's destiny is his alone, and he will face it." Mobus snapped.

"For your information, Mobus, Kal El is destined for far greater things than your petty struggles against us, the beings of light. His fate is not tied to this world alone. In fact, protecting Earth is merely his first step into a larger universe." Officer Santana's long golden locks were ringed by her silvery gold translucent wings.

"Kal El, see to Lois, and know that this particular battle is not yours to win or lose." The strange, beautiful woman vocalized a number of unfamiliar words in a singsong voice, and Mobus hid his eyes with his hands and backed away. In moments, Mobus howled angrily and disappeared in a cloud of fiery black smoke.

"Thanks." Clark checked on Lois, and noted that she had removed her ring. "Is Mobus dead?" The pretty woman shook her head, allowing her long, golden locks to cascade down to her shoulders. "No. Even by your standards, Kal El, Mobus and I are virtually immortal."

"Who are you?" Clark sat next to Lois, and braced her head in his lap. "Let's just say that I'm a friend. You, of all people, should understand the value of a secret identity." The woman smiled brightly. "Mobus was my responsibility. He should've never been allowed access to this realm."

"Will he be back?" Clark brushed Lois's hair from her eyes. "I hope not. I assure you, we will investigate this travesty, and make the necessary adjustments." She gazed upward. "Time for me to go. Kal El, Son of Krypton, welcome to Earth." The woman disappeared in a brilliant shower of white and gold sparks. Clark blinked a few times, and picked Lois up, carrying her to the Daemon Be's rail.  
Officer Santana was there to greet them, taking Lois from Clark's arms, and placing her on a makeshift cot. "I believe Miss Lane lost this." She handed the blue k ring to Clark. "Thank you officer… He quickly placed it back on her finger. Angelique said a couple of strange words, and Lois's eyes fluttered open. "Clark?"

"Hey, take it easy, Lo' you've had a nasty fall." Clark didn't feel bad about telling her a partial truth. She rubbed her stomach and sides, saying: "I do feel like I've been hit by a Mack Truck." Lois shaded her eyes from the bright sunshine. "Thanks to Officer Santana, you…" Clark began.

He glanced around and Officer Angelique Santana was gone. 'Who?" Lois asked as she wobbly sat up. "Never mind." Clark said thoughtfully, he was just glad that Lois was all right. "


	8. Chapter 8: Ever Vigilant

_I am chaos, I am darkness, I am evil personified._  
Chapter 27: Epilogue: Ever Vigilant

Clark talked Lois into heading for Smallville Medical. "I'm fine, Smallville." Lois complained, as Clark dropped her off. Dr. Hamilton had given Lois an alleged examination, removing the blue k ring while putting her under sedation. Using a secret formula based on electromagnetism, the Biological Scientist eliminated the kryptonite infection from Lois's bloodstream.

Lois's heart rate and other vital signs had returned to normal. Clark picked her up a bit later, thanking Dr. Hamilton. The Superwoman was no more, and the Red and Blue Blur returned to patrolling the streets of Metropolis alone, more aware of his mysterious fate than ever.

Clark enjoyed the silent, relaxing patrols of Metropolis, as well as the exciting confrontations with low-level criminals. He knew that he could make a difference every single night in people's lives. Everybody needs a hobby. He often contemplated.

Clark wondered about Mobus and the unusual being of light that he'd met that day. It gave him a sense of humility, knowing that someone was out there watching him…besides Jon Jonz, The Martian Manhunter. The antics of the Red and Blue Blur were making national headlines, spurring him on ever closer to his fate. Clark didn't realize that a certain black clad, golden masked hero also took notice.

Clark offered to help Lois clean the condo. She declined, instead using the distraction to focus on her true feelings for him. Lois still had mixed feelings about their possible relationship, though she continued to wear his unique ring. Clark looked in on her every night before and after patrol.

Lex and Tess sailed past Bermuda, counting their blessings, and their salvaged weapons stash. Rex Rowland, back in Nebraska, began to sell his share of the arms cache on the Mid-western black market. Despite the best efforts of the Red and Blue Blur team, there was much more work to be done. They'd only succeeded in stopping two thirds of the weapons shipment.

Clark hyper sped around the city, stopping muggers, armed robberies, murders, drug deals, and saving the infrequent cat up a tree, and it was clear to him that he could do much more. However…one had to start somewhere…and remain ever vigilant.

End - or is it?

Teaser: MHX Geneseo - coming in 2010.

Back in Falcon Claw, Nebraska, Laura Lake explored the cave where she'd first encountered the phenomenon known as Loracite, a yellowish mineral from which she derived her power.

Today, she'd just refilled a few jugs of the alien type mineral to take back home to her Aunt Wanda's farm. Limiting her Loracite infusions made Laura feel more human, but it carried great risk.

Two sets of young eyes watched the nineteen year old raven haired beauty from the rocky crags above. Blissfully unaware that she was under surveillance, Laura continued on with her business...


	9. Chapter 9: Watcher

_Watcher Chapter 9_

Young Barbara Gordon read through the myriad of stories involving the red and blue blur. Lois Lane, the Daily Planet reporter had recently shortened the name of the city's savior to the Blur. Apparently, Miss Lane had a number of adventures with this Blur. Did she know his identity?

Barbara wondered if this new hero with miraculous powers was truly an extraordinary being, or something drummed up by the media to sell papers, Internet stories, or TV shows. Barbara's Raspberry buzzed, which she decided half jokingly to call her Bat Berry.

It was Dick Grayson, also known as Nightwing. The text read: R U Home? Patrol or sidelines? Barb decided to simply call Dick back. "Dick? These Blur stories are fascinating." She began after a few pleasantries. "I'm actually back in for the duration. Slow night. I assume Bruce is still out?" Dick confirmed that, adding a few more stories about a last minute bust of the Penguin.

"What do you make of this Blur?" Barbara, like a good young detective, had sunk her teeth into a mystery that she had no current answer to. "Barb, you're obsessing." Dick criticized. "I am not! What if this Blur comes to Gotham? What if he's got another agenda?" Barb defended.

"If the Blur comes to Gotham, we'll all be out of jobs!" Dick quipped. "He's been single-handedly cleaning up the streets of Metropolis." Barb considered that. "Bruce did that for quite a while before we came along." She pointed out. "This is completely different."

"I'll give you that the accounts of the Blur's heroics are amazing, but are they credible?" Dick analyzed. "There have been so many people saved in Metropolis, that it has to be credible." Barb countered. "My question or concern is if there are evildoers in Metropolis and beyond with special abilities. That would be a game changer for us."

"Have you mentioned this to Bruce?" Dick inquired. "Yeah, but as usual, he's playing his bat cards close to his vest. He listens, but hasn't really commented on my Blur stories." Barb replied. "That sounds like Bruce. He may be overanalyzing it as we speak." Dick remarked.

"We ought to head over to Metropolis ourselves and check it out." Barb instigated. "Without telling Bruce?" Dick asked. "No, of course we have to tell Bruce, but its not as if he needs us around constantly to knock out the local crime lords." Barb responded.

"We can head over there on our motorcycles." Dick offered, always up for an adventure. "It's a long ride, but we can use the tail end of our vacations from school. Final exams for the trimester are this week. After we grab our grades, we can hit the road."

Barb was a sophomore at Gotham State University, and Dick was completing his freshman year. "Darn, we'll miss the GSU summer blast party!" Dick complained. "True, but we can watch the student body get drunk and puke anytime, how often do we get to go to Smallville, or Metropolis?" Barb said, half seriously.

"Maybe we'll catch some evil cow tippers in Kansas!" Dick added to the running joke. Barb cracked up. "At least Metropolis is arguably the largest city in the Midwest. There may be enough criminal elements leftover from the Blur for us to pick up!" Dick said facetiously.

The two eager young crime-fighters worked on putting together their route and a plan. "How do we attract the Blur's attention?" Dick wondered aloud. "Two words. Lois Lane." Barb replied.  
Scene: Daily Planet conference room:

Lois Lane and Clark Kent sat stoically looking on as Perry White officially took over the reins as the Planet's Chief Editor. Perry was very old school, and planned on running the Planet by the book. "People, I know newspapers are becoming dinosaurs, but I will not let this Old Gray Lady fall by the wayside. Not on my watch!" Perry bellowed, demanding instant attention.

Clark thought that Perry's speech was inspiring, like an old-fashioned football coach. Lois was bored, absently sipping her coffee, and gnawing on the cup's Styrofoam edge. "There'll be some swift changes coming." Perry added. "Effective immediately, and approved by the vaunted Board of Directors. Lane! Kent!" He yelled. Lois nearly spat out her coffee.

There were eight other journalists, and cub reporters around the table. "People, as of tomorrow AM, Kent and Lane are elevated to Class 1 Journalists. The salary increase will follow shortly." Perry had done the impossible…silenced Lois Lane. She stared blankly at Perry, who returned her gaze. "Something wrong, Lane?" He challenged.

"Something green under my nose?" Perry quipped. That elicited a number of chuckles in the tense meeting. Clark snickered and glanced away. "Something green under your nose?" Perry teased Lois, causing her to redden. She fiddled with the blue gem ring on her finger.

"You kids deserve it." Perry continued. "I've thoroughly reviewed both your files. You'll work as a team, though some competition will be good for you. We'll be talking incentives at the next meeting. You two will handle the City Beat. I don't want any fluffy bunny feel good stories either! I want hardcore journalism. That goes for all of you."

"The only two exceptions are James Olsen and Catherine Grant." Perry went on. "Olsen will be our staff photographer. He'll be chasing photo ops all over Metropolis. Grant will be handling the Social Beat, including local hot spots for celebrities, politicians, and the like."

Cat Grant's hand went in the air. "Yes, Cat?" Perry encouraged. "Chief, we need a brand name, like a face or series of faces to go with the paper. Last year, I was on Good Morning Metropolis for a season…before they replaced me with that twit, Jessica Connor, and said that their demographics had shifted, whatever the hell that means."

"Good suggestion, Cat." Perry whirled to face Clark and Lois. "That's where you two come in." Lois and Cat were both stunned. "What?" The girls chorused. Clark reddened. "Lane and Kent will be the new young faces of the Daily Planet. The brass wants something more edgy."

Without thinking, Lois laughed out loud. The room was still silent. Lois cleared her throat. "What's so funny, Lane?" Perry questioned. "Uh…nothing chief…it's just that Clark and I are hardly edgy. We're old fashioned down to Earth types." Lois replied.

"I agree." Cat said and Clark seconded. "That's what the public is looking for. Trust me, Lane, Kent, those bubbleheads on the TV networks aren't real people. You are the real people. Salt of the Earth, down home cooking." Perry continued. "That's what Kansas is looking for."

"Isn't the Daily Planet internationally known?" Fitz from Sports, asked. "Let me tell you, people, the newspaper industry is on its last legs. The Internet has killed most of the old regime.

We're going to have to focus on local happenings." Perry added. "If we latch onto an international story, sure, we'll run with it. But those are rare. We can't depend on them."

"It's not as if a space alien landed in Metropolis, and vowed to save the world." Perry added sarcastically. Clark fidgeted, and flushed. Lois raised her hand. "Yeah, Lane?" Perry encouraged.

"What about the Blur? I mean I kind of have an inroad with him. That's an international story." Lois glanced at Clark, who suddenly felt very awkward.

"Exactly the type of thinking I'm looking for." Perry went on. "Lane, I'm surprised that your ears weren't burning. The brass was all over your Blur stories. That was the deciding factor in elevating you two. They think that you can pull in the Blur for an exclusive."

"Good luck with that." Clark sniped, forgetting himself. "Kent, don't be negative." Perry warned. "It doesn't suit you. That's why I insisted on teaming you with Lane. Honestly, individually, your journalism experience is sparse. Together you form a top of the line reporting team."

Actually, you get a good team without paying top dollar, Lois mused sourly, lost in thought. "Let's hit it, people!" Perry dismissed them with a wave. The other reporters filed out. Perry stood near the door. "Lane! Kent! In my office, pronto." He barked.

Clark and Lois followed Perry silently through the busy newsroom. Perry's office was at the end of the center aisle. From his office window, he could see the entire newsroom. "Sit down." He ordered after they'd passed the threshold. Clark held the chair for Lois and she smiled appreciatively. Perry closed the door after they were seated.

"You two are the hope and future of my newspaper." Perry began. "Gee Chief, no pressure there." Lois snapped, startling Clark. "You can handle it, Lane, so can you, Kent." He reassured them. "I know that you two are an item. That's fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with your workload." Both of them reddened. There was no fooling Perry.

"It won't." Lois said confidently. Clark was still in shock. "I need you two to not suck face in front of the staff. It's bad for moral." Perry smirked. "Agreed. We can be professional." Clark hurriedly replied. "That's all you need to be." Perry grinned.

"Now, here's your first assignment." Perry handed them a roughly scrawled note. "Some wacko is threatening to jump off of Glandville Tower. He says that the end is near. The devil is walking the Earth and such. Get down there and cover it before the rest of the media scares him off the ledge. Go!" Immediately, Lois and Clark got up, grabbed their stuff and left.

Thus history was born.  
more


	10. Chapter 10: Jumper

Chapter 10 - _Jumper_

Scene: _Daily Planet newsroom_.

"Ready Smallville? Heels up in five." Lois said excitedly, playfully tapping Clark on the shoulder. "By the time we get there, the story will be over." Clark complained. "Listen, Smallville, I love this whole eager beaver thing you've got going, but I'm heading to the little girls room. It would be difficult to garner an interview if I'm doing the potty dance."

With that Lois smiled and headed for the restroom. Clark chuckled. Lois, you are a piece of work! He silently praised. Within a few minutes, the newly energized reporter team was on the ground in front of Glandville Tower. The media had gathered to the right of the structure behind the yellow police tapelines. High above them helicopters swirled.

Lois and Clark pulled up in a gray MetroCab. Clark paid the driver, and Lois hustled towards the nearest policemen. "Dano, what have we got?" She questioned Detective Dan Turpin. "Classic jumper scenario. Martin Simons, depressed and bordering psychotic, says he's going to end it all. Keeps rambling on about some evil being bringing about the Apocalypse." Turpin replied.

Lois scribbled all that down and handed Turpin a piece of paper. "What's this?" He frowned. "Don't worry, Dano, it's not a bribe. It's a coupon for a dozen doughnuts at the local Doughnut Hole." Lois smirked. "You always know what to do to get things done." Turpin praised.

"I'm a professional." Lois gibed. "Kent." Turpin nodded at Clark. "Staying out of trouble?" Clark shook his head. "Never." He joked. "Smallville, please tell me that you brought a camera." Lois asked as she turned to him. "Camera? For what?" Clark was puzzled.

"Standard operating procedures, Clark." Lois said seriously. "APB!" He cast her a confused glance. "Always be prepared!" Lois playfully admonished him. "Oh." Clark said sheepishly. "I might have one…hold on." He said, further befuddling Lois.

Clark had decided to go up and talk to Simons. It was about time for the Blur to make an appearance anyway. Simons was fifteen stories up, edging along the rooftop ledge. "I'll get it!" Clark said to her before he zipped away. "Where is it?" Lois asked, but Clark was gone.

"Smallville?" She asked the empty air. "How did he get away so fast?" She muttered. Clark sped up to the rooftop, and was about to sneak up on Simons, when a slim shadow cut him off. "Hey Clark!" A female voice startled him. "Laura?" He asked. Laura Lake was in full Gold Wing mode, with her mask, cape, and leather get up.

"I got this one, Clark." Laura offered, momentarily taken in by his wide eyes. "Its broad daylight. Even you can't hide your identity as the Blur in bright sunlight." Clark nodded. "I know. I've been thinking about that. I'm tired of living in the shadows. I need to be me."

"Are you sure about that?" Laura questioned. She saw hesitation in his eyes. "If someone catches you on film, it's over. Your life as mild mannered Clark Kent, Daily Planet reporter will be effectively over. Lois would automatically become a target for any and all enemies of the Blur. As fast as you are, you can't guard Lois twenty four seven and help Metropolis."

"I know. It's something I have to do." Clark defended. "Trust me on this, Clark." Laura continued to press her point. "It's noble that you want to 'come out' so to speak, but how about this?"

Laura untied her black facemask and handed it to Clark. "Try it on." She urged.

"I don't really like masks, Laura." Clark whined. "Yeah, but think about it. No one has ever seen the Blur before. You can still keep your alter ego in check." She went on. "Here." Laura untied her cape and gave it to him as well. "Just give it a shot, that's all I ask." She insisted.

Clark reluctantly put on the mask and cape. "By the time we finish debating, Simons will be a big red splotch on the pavement." Laura commented. "Let's see." Clark turned towards her. "It needs something." She rubbed her thin chin. "I got it! Promise me that you'll wait here."

"Laura, we have to hurry." Clark complained. "Hurry is my middle name." She quipped. "Actually it's Anne." She joked and zipped away, returning in seconds with hair gel and mousse. "Laura, you didn't…" Clark grumbled. "Relax, Clark. I sped down to Bloominghales and grabbed a couple of free samples."

"Go on and slick back your hair, then mousse it in place." Laura directed. This gave Clark a whole new look, which was the goal. "I like it." She encouraged. "It's a little too Dracula meets the Phantom of the Opera, but I don't think anyone will recognize you from a distance. Go!"

"Thanks, Laura." Clark appreciated her efforts. He zipped close to the suicidal citizen. Clark made it a point to get within grabbing distance if his efforts to talk down Simons went awry. "Mr. Simons." Clark said, as he magically appeared at the distraught man's side.

Simons wavered as Clark startled him, but he still managed to walk along the rooftop edge. "How did you get up here?" Simons asked. He was pale and frightened but otherwise seemed in good health. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you needn't jump. Things can always get better. You need to have hope, and give it a chance." Clark began his psychological banter.

Laura meanwhile, had called Kara on her cell phone, as she hid in the shadows behind a large air conditioner unit. "K Girl. We need your help. How about some aerial assistance?" Laura explained the situation to the young Kryptonian beauty.

Back on the ground, Lois waited impatiently for Clark to return. How can we function as a team, if half of the players aren't in the game? She groused silently. The crowd had stopped milling about, and began to point and gesture excitedly towards the rooftop.

Lois followed their gaze, and spotted the caped shadow edging nearer to Simons. "The Blur!" Lois announced happily, as her heart raced. "Bravo!" She shouted. The rest of the crowd picked up on Lois's observation. They yelled and cheered. "It's the Blur!"

"Clark, where the hell are you?" Lois complained aloud as she pushed closer towards the yellow police tapeline. Turpin and the rest of the attending policemen had their hands full holding back the crowd and keeping order. Four helicopters buzzed the rooftop.

A blue and gold streak suddenly flew in between the helicopters, causing a disturbance in the local airflow. Two of the choppers backed off, hoping to soften the instability. The turbulence continued for a long while, as the streak zipped back and forth around the Glandville Tower.

Mysteriously, two of the cameramen fell back into a helicopter's fuselage. Two others reported that their cameras' batteries had overheated. Two more reported melted camera lenses. That left them with only their photographic cell phones to snag pictures of the Blur.

Clark continued his rooftop rescue. "Mr. Simons, what is so bad that you would want to end your life?" The scared citizen gawked openly at him. "Why do you care?" He asked, and to Clark seemed to be thoroughly in his right mind. "I care about every Metropolis citizen." Clark replied, remembering to keep his caped back towards the distressed helicopters.

"You can't do it alone." Simons sounded rational to Clark. Something wasn't right here, he mused. "Can't do what alone, Mr. Simons?" The man stood his ground firmly. "You can't save Metropolis from it. You can't save anyone from it."

"Save them from what?" Clark encouraged. "The end of all things." Simons responded. Now Clark wasn't so sure about him. "Who could end all things?" He pressed the would-be jumper. "The evil one. The devil. Satan." Simons rambled. "I'm not particularly religious, Mr. Simons, help me to understand." Clark kept the bothered man talking.

Clark thought that this was taking too long. He considered just grabbing Simons now and setting him down in the alley out of the way of prying eyes. The only problem with that plan was that Simons would likely just try it again, or kill himself another way.

No, Clark had to get to the bottom of this. He needed to know with certainty that Simons wasn't truly a psychotic bent on his own destruction. He silently wished that he could contact Chloe at Watchtower, and get a psychological profile on Simons. That would have to wait.

"Mr. Simons, tell me who's after you, tell me why you think that someone evil is out to destroy us all. I can stop virtually anyone from doing harm." Clark hoped that he could back up his boast. "You can?" Simons suddenly calmed down. "Yes, I can." He replied confidently.

There it was, a glimmer of hope for Simons and Metropolis. "Are you powerful enough to defeat Satan?" Simons asked in a relaxed tone. "I'll certainly give it my best effort." Clark said sincerely. Clark doubted that any such being existed…unless Simons was referring to Mobus. That powerful being from another realm was more than a match for Clark.

Could Mobus have returned, making good on his threat? Clark silently hoped not. This time, Clark would be more prepared, and he had Kara and Laura as backup. Simons was essentially correct, maybe he couldn't just do everything alone. Oliver Queen had taught him that.

"I promise that I will face any threat to Metropolis and its citizens." Clark reassured Simons. "Now lets get down off this ledge and relax." Simons was hesitant, but made a very brief step towards Clark. The crowd below cheered, but the building seemed to shift.

Simons lost his balance…but Clark's reactions were quicker. He held Simons strongly but carefully by the wrist. "He's here! See! He's here!" Simons sounded panicky. "There's no one here." Clark insisted. "It was just…an earthquake tremor."

Clark yanked Simons onto the flat top of the building, and ushered him towards the rooftop entrance that led back down into the offices. Clark didn't think that an earthquake fault line ran beneath Metropolis, or that the building shook purely by accident at that exact moment.

Someone was here, but whom? He wondered silently. Some meteor freaks possessed substantially powerful abilities, as he recalled, but were they facing a new type of threat?

By now, the police and paramedics had reached the rooftop, clambering up the stairway from the building's interior.

They opened the door, just as Clark reached it. He had to move fast. "Mr. Simons, go with these men and get some help, I'll be around." He directed, just as the first policeman crossed the doorway threshold, Clark zipped away with split second timing.

They carefully took Simons into custody, and gave him a sedative. Clark rejoined Laura near the back of the rooftop. "You didn't shake the building did you?" He inquired. "No. I felt it, but sped around the area and didn't see anyone out of the ordinary." She informed him.

"There's more going on here then we can see, Laura." Clark said with disdain. "I don't think Simons was a wacko at all. Someone scared him into attempting suicide, and I will get to the bottom of this." He added with determination.

"One more thing, Laura." Clark began, handing her some money. "Can you pick up one of those disposable cameras?" She cast him a puzzled glance and complied, zipping away. Laura returned promptly with a camera she'd bought in the office building's gift shop.

Kara had been watching from just above them, and flew in from behind a taller building. "Hey cuz!" The alien teen smiled brightly. "Thanks for that assist up there." Clark pointed to the still circling helicopters. The three superheroes remained hidden from view beneath an old rusty awning.

Kara snapped a few shots of Clark from above and behind. The photos would only show the black cape, and slicked back hair of the Blur. Kara shifted frequently to add some movement to the shots, and Laura breathed on the lens to fog it up. "Thanks you guys." Clark smirked.

Clark returned Laura's mask and cape to her, which she donned immediately. After filling Kara in on the disturbing events of the day, the young superheroes parted ways. The crowd below was starting to disburse. The rescue teams began to leave the scene as well.

Lois stood alone and furious next to Dan Turpin who was directing the removal of the police tapelines. Clark fluffed his hair back up, and casually strolled over beside Lois. He stood behind her silently for a few moments. "Pretty exciting, huh?" He grinned, camera in hand.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Lois snapped coldly without turning towards him. "Lois, I know what you're going to say…" Clark had expected this type of reaction from her. "I seriously doubt that, Clark. I just had to part with a coupon for my favorite Bear Claw Latte to get another tidbit of information from Turpin. You missed everything!"

"I thought we were supposed to be a team…" Lois whirled to confront him. "What's wrong with your hair?" Clark stared at her blankly. "It was windy." He said lamely. "Anyway…" Lois was about to launch into a new rant.

"Before you send me back to the copier room, you might want to take a look at these." Clark waved the disposable camera at her. Lois was speechless at first. "Please tell me that you grabbed a picture of the Blur." Clark nodded. "Yeah, and then some." He said proudly.

"According to what I overheard the police discussing, Simons had never been in trouble with the law. He'd never gotten so much as a parking ticket."

Clark relayed a truthful statement, which made him feel better about lying to Lois. "So he just snapped?" Lois was skeptical.

"I'm not convinced that Simons was crazy and suicidal at all." Clark continued as Lois smirked. "What orifice did you pull that one out of, Smallville?" She asked cynically. "Something or someone frightened Simons so much that he wanted to take his own life." Clark replied sternly, also the truth, he noted.

"Really?" Lois narrowed her eyes. "Was it depression, drugs, alcohol abuse, broken marriage, loss of a fortune in the stock market?" She ticked off suicide reasons on her fingers. "We don't know any of that right now." Clark conceded. "We need to get back to the Planet and do some research before the government or someone else puts a hold on his file."

"Government?" Lois's eyes widened. "Are you sure that you haven't been listening to the left wing nut balls on the radio? I mean are we talking black helicopters and all?" Clark shook his head. "I don't know. Call it gut instinct. We still have these to process." He boldly handed her the camera. "Gut instinct, eh Smallville? That's good enough for me." Lois said taking his arm.

They walked back to the main street and hailed a cab. "Well done, Smallville. We'll make a top notch reporter of you yet." Lois praised as Clark held the door for her.

"Lois, did you happen to notice a slight earthquake when the Blur grabbed Simons off the ledge?" Clark inquired, in a total change of subject. "Earthquake, in the middle of Kansas? Not likely, Clark. I didn't really feel anything at all. Unless you're referring to me feeling the Earth move under my feet when I finally spotted the Blur." She flirted. "Nice." Clark scowled.

He continued to frown, which played into Lois's hands. How can I be jealous of myself? He wondered incredulously. The truth was that Lois had confirmed his suspicions. That tremor he felt would have to be caused by someone within the building, but who, or what?


	11. Chapter 11: Darkness Falls

Edge of Darkness - Chapter 11

Below the building, a shadowy figure limps away from all the activity. It's difficult to tell whether the person is male or female. The being lurches through the Metropolis sewer system, and suddenly shifts into hyper speed, dashing down a specific pathway towards a higher elevation.

The being winces at the sudden burst of sunlight, covering its large eyes. "Grog? Did you see him? Did you see Kal El?" A scratchy, deep throated female voice inquires, from a shadowed alcove near the sewer drainpipe entrance. "Yes me see him. Kal calls himself the Blur. I also saw young Kara Zor El. She has the power of flight!" An elderly woman with graying hair and a pinkish skin hue nods.

"So the Kandorians and Kryptonians did make it to Earth after all." She grumbles. "This will make matters more difficult Grog." Something buzzes loudly within the elderly woman's loose tunic. "Yes, My Lord?" She asks nervously. Grog, apparently male, ducks down low, concealing his nearly seven foot height beside the alcove.

Blissfully unaware citizens of Metropolis walked by, merely yards from the intruders. "I have identified the Kryptonians." The gnarled old woman's bony fingers pressed a golden triangle concealed just beneath her blouse. "Very good, Granny. This makes my victory that much sweeter." A powerfully deep voice responds through the small communication device.

Not far from the strange beings, two motorcycles roar past. They too, are unaware of the potentially imminent threat facing Metropolis. The black cycles zip carefully in between the vehicles of the ever increasing traffic leading to the bustling downtown of the huge city.

The motorcycle driver closest to the sidewalk's com link beeped. "Yeah, Barb?" A medium sized young man with flowing black hair replies. "Dick, are you sure that we can just waltz into the Daily Planet and hook up with Clark Kent and Lois Lane?"

"Bruce said that he'd made the call to the editor, Perry White." He responded, as his turbo-powered cycle hummed to a stop. A young woman with lengthy reddish blonde hair slowed her cycle to a stop beside him. "What are we gonna say? Hello, Mr. Kent, Miss Lane, do you know anything about a super hero called the Blur, and a number of huge crime families that banded together?"

"Pretty much, Barb." Dick admitted sheepishly. "Bruce agreed to let us investigate, sayin' that we can't solve all crimes by sittin' on our butts in front of the computer." Barb shook her head, allowing her freshly permed hair to flop outside of her jet black crash helmet.

"Personally, I think Bruce just wanted to get us out of his hair for a while." Barb opined. The red light changed to green and the young crime-fighters sped onward towards the famous newspaper.

By now, Clark was at Watchtower base, picking Chloe's brain as to what had just happened. "Are you sure that there were no reports of seismic activity in or around Metropolis?" He pressed her for answers. "Yes, Clark, I'm sure." Chloe sounded tired and indignant.

"I wonder if we have a new ground shifting meteor freak in the area?" Clark wondered aloud. "I don't know, Clark, but why would a meteor freak choose that exact moment to disrupt your rescue of Simons?" Chloe challenged. "Why not simply attack you in front of everyone?"

"Maybe the meteor freak doesn't know who I really am?" Clark reasoned. "He or she could've just wanted to possibly discredit the Blur by making me drop Simons off the ledge accidentally." Chloe shook her head, allowing her lengthening blonde locks to flow freely across her shoulders. "Maybe we're grasping at meteor freak straws here. After all, Impulse, Canary, and AC have abilities beyond the norm, and they're not from Smallville or Metropolis."

"Also, unless I miss my guess, you and Lois are about to receive some company." Chloe stated as she changed one of the many screens to show the parking lot outside the Daily Planet. "See those two Wayne / Nippon Motorcycles that just arrived?" She magnified the license plates for him to see.

"Gotham City?" Clark frowned as he read the plate's locality. "I've been checking up on someone that's been nosing around on our Watchtower database." Chloe explained. "You mean someone from Gotham was able to hack into Watchtower's security system?" Clark was incredulous.

"I was able to throw in some new fire walls that sent the intruder on a wild cyber goose chase, before they got into anything important. Some of Lana and I's meteor freak profiles were under low security lock downs. Whoever they are, they got into it, and they are very, very good."

"None of Oliver and I's higher functioning systems were compromised, but, I did send a quick ping tracer off some satellites right back to their Gotham IP address. Here's our two hackers." Chloe pulled up files labeled appropriately enough, 'Gotham Intruders'.

A petite female teenager with long, fluffy reddish blonde hair's picture came up. "Meet Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City's Police Commissioner, James Gordon. She's the one that has gotten the furthest into Watchtower's systems...even further than Tess Mercer ever did."

"Next up, Richard Grayson. He was adopted by Bruce Wayne." Chloe's fingers sped across the keys. Grayson had shoulder length, jet black hair, and was a bit shorter and stockier than Clark. "Adopted?" Clark's eyes narrowed as he read Grayson's biography. "Funny, Wayne doesn't seem like the marrying type." He sniped as Chloe flipped through the file.

"Not the way it came down, Clark." Chloe informed him. "Wayne adopted Grayson as a young teen. He's technically called a ward. Wayne's not married, but I'd bet he waved enough greenbacks in front of the state bureaucrats, to fast track the adoption." Clark scowled. "Creepy, but I can relate to it."

"That's not the half of it." Chloe continued. "Grayson's family was killed right in front of him. Some nut bag in Gotham called Two Face, and his cronies murdered the Graysons, at that time known as 'The Flying Graysons' of circus performing fame. Wayne was at the circus that day. He witnessed the carnage. Right then and there, Wayne filed adoption papers. The boy had no other family."

"Here's the connection..." Chloe paused. "Wayne's parents were killed right in front of him when he was a child as well." Clark gasped. "Thomas Wayne and his wife...I remember the story. The murder is still listed as unsolved." Chloe nodded. "Clark, what the hell do you think that does to a kid?"

"Years of therapy?" Clark guessed. "Maybe." Chloe agreed. "The records show that when Wayne was about sixteen, he dropped all therapy, and took off on his own to 'see the world'. Since then, Wayne was kicked around from elite ivy league college to elite ivy league college, before finally giving up on it."

"Wayne and Grayson would have a pair of huge chips on their shoulders." Clark added with concern.


	12. Chapter 12:Zatanna Returns

"_Sometimes I feel like I know everything about you, and sometimes I feel like I don't know you at all." _Lois to Clark – Season 10 begins now!

**Chapter 12**: _Zatanna Returns_

The day started out normally enough, well as normal as any of our days did, Chloe thought. She and Oliver had been getting along swimmingly. She hated to admit it, but Chloe had fallen for the big green hero. He was certainly no Clark Kent, but then who was? She mused.

Oliver sat reclining on the big black leather couch near Watchtower's center. He'd been sipping a glass of red wine, and pouring over the Watchtower's more legitimate expenses, like electricity. They used a phenomenal amount to be sure, but well worth it in his estimation.

A brilliant flash suddenly lit up the dimly lighted room. Chloe was used to reading by the glow of the multiple monitor's light. A thick ooze of greenish blue smoke filled the area. She'd thought that she'd blown yet another circuit, or drive unit up.

As he grappled for the small fire extinguisher, Oliver noted a familiar set of long legs. "Zatanna!" He exclaimed as Chloe bolted towards them. After the beautiful young sorceress had zapped her and Lois into a bizarre exchange of lifestyles, she never fully trusted the raven-haired magician.

"What the hell do you want?" Chloe snarled. "Well, it's good to see you, too, Chloe." Zatanna's large, darkly shadowed eyes narrowed. "Oliver." She greeted him coldly. "Well, Z, you're looking positively scary, as usual." He needled her. "Why are you darkening our door again?"

"Because you have a problem." Zatanna said menacingly. A chill ran down Oliver's spine, as Chloe finally relaxed her confrontational posture. Oliver smiled at the pretty magic user. "Do I?" He grinned thinly. "Why do I get the feeling that my problem is actually your problem?"

"Not this time, sweetie." Zatanna flirted, purposely to annoy Chloe. Of course, she knew that Oliver and Chloe were seeing each other, as well as were Lois and Clark. "Remember how I warned you that there were scarier magical beings out there than me?" She teased.

"Yes." Oliver gulped, all seriousness again. "Well, let me put it to you this way…the proverbial 'it's about to hit the fan' rings true." Zatanna began. "It's all over the Ethernet." Chloe's eyes widened. "The what?" She encouraged. "The Ethernet. It's like the Internet for the magical community." Zatanna explained.

"I wasn't aware that we had a magical community." Oliver remarked. "Of course not." Zatanna sauntered across the floor in her six-inch heels, leaping easily onto a nearby desk. She took a seat, and elegantly crossed her legs. "The magical community remains hidden from what we call 'the mortal realm'."

"It may have something to do with burning witches at Salem." Zatanna's voice was filled with sarcasm. "The mortal realm?" Chloe parroted. "Wait. You mean to say that witches and warlocks exist, and they're immortal?" Oliver scoffed. "Some are. Only the most powerful wizards can cast a spell of that magnitude." Zatanna explained.

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure that you haven't seen one too many Harry Potter movies?" She heckled. Zatanna chuckled. "I only wish. I've been reading my father's magic book, and it told me how to get in touch with the magical community. It was exceedingly simple, actually."

"Oliver, you'd better be ready for this." She warned, also casting a glance at Chloe.

"What? What's going on?" Chloe prodded impatiently. "Okay. Kent Nelson…" Zatanna began. "Kent Nelson?" Oliver echoed. "As in the late Dr. Fate?" The leggy young sorceress nodded. "Yes. Dr. Fate, if you prefer, not only possessed the Magic Helmet of Naboo, but was a sort of gatekeeper." She hesitated, as if to make sure she had her story straight.

"Gatekeeper?" Chloe repeated. "Yes. One of Dr. Fate's responsibilities was to keep the Veil of Secrecy closed between the magical realm and the mortal realm, or human realm, if that sounds more appropriate. When Kent Nelson died, the Helmet was corrupted." Zatanna continued.

"How is this my problem, again?" Oliver sniped. "Hello!" Zatanna flicked her finger, and one of Oliver's accounting report binders jumped up off the couch and smacked him in the back of the head, causing Chloe to snicker. "Think about it, Ollie!" Zatanna snapped.

"Don't tell me…the Veil of Secrecy was left unguarded." Oliver contributed. "Exactly." Zatanna shook her head, allowing her lengthy black hair to flow freely. "This is a bad thing, I take it?" Chloe put in. "Yes. Very bad." Zatanna deadpanned. "How bad?" Oliver's brow furrowed.

"Oh just the usual. The Veil is torn and the magical realm and the human realm intertwine, causing chaos of apocalyptic proportions. Powerful magical beings enslave the known world." Zatanna answered sarcastically. "Oh, so it's no big deal then?" Oliver added his sarcastic tone to the conversation. Chloe gasped. "How do we close it again?" She asked excitedly.

"Someone has to take ownership of the Helmet of Naboo, and mentally instruct it to reseal, thereby keeping the two realms separated." Zatanna explained. "Well, we know where it is…or was." Oliver's eyes narrowed. "The Hall of Justice, along with Carter Hall's other souvenirs."

"Dr. Fate warned us that the Helmet was too powerful for a normal human. It literally drove him mad." Zatanna shook her head. "No, Ollie, the Helmet can be controlled by a logically trained human. Hence the name: 'Doctor'. Maybe a doctor of Psychiatry?" She suggested, as a blast of wind enveloped the area. "How about a space alien?" Chloe smirked.

"Do you know one?" Zatanna asked with a puzzled expression on her face. "Three or four, actually." Chloe replied confidently. "Who?" Zatanna wondered aloud. "Duh! Right behind you." Clark's voice suddenly echoed through the Watchtower base. "Clark, did you just 'out yourself' to Zatanna?" Oliver asked with concern. "She already knew." Clark said with disdain.

Immediately, Zatanna hopped off the desk and quickly kissed Clark on the cheek, making him redden. Oliver's eyebrows rose, as Chloe shook her head. "The problem is that our Clark is just as susceptible to magic as anyone else, as you've proven, Zatanna."

"I take it that you've been listening to our dilemma?" Oliver questioned Clark. "Yeah, I caught the last half of the conversation." He admitted. "Just out of curiosity, why don't you wear the Helmet of Naboo? You're already a member of the magical community."

Clark was testing Zatanna to see if she'd learned anything about craving absolute power. "No, I can't." She glanced down with despair. "I'd go on a world destroying power trip." Clark smiled. Zatanna had passed his little test. "How long would it have to be worn?" Chloe inquired.

"As long as it takes to mentally close the Veil." Zatanna's answer was vague at best. "No, Chloe! You can't!" Clark snapped immediately. "Hopefully, it would just be a short time. Believe me Clark, I've had my share of power trips…need we mention BRAINIAC?"

next: _The Veil _


	13. Chapter 13: The Veil

**Chapter 13**: _The Veil_

Oliver had stood up and was absently tapping his report binder with a pen. Zatanna couldn't resist. "Oy! Pay attention, yeh?" She said as she snapped her fingers and a partially filled wastebasket jumped up and smacked Oliver in the backside.

Chloe cracked up, but Clark was all seriousness. His stoic face lost in thought. "I'll wear the helmet." He suddenly volunteered. "No way, Clark!" Chloe snapped. "We know that your alien brain is hardwired differently than ours. What if it damages your mind, or you damage it?"

"We'll have to take that chance." Clark decided. "Oliver, let's call the team together." Oliver hesitated. "Whoa! Hold on there, cowboy! We can't have you with your super powered abilities, going rogue on us." He protested. "We'll have to let somebody with no extraordinary abilities at all wear it. That way if it all goes bad on us, we still have a chance of stopping it."

"Remember how many of us it took to subdue Icicle?" Oliver recalled. "And he was a psychopathic idiot." Zatanna was growing impatient. "Hello! World ending apocalypse coming…are we done debating who gets to play hero?" She asked sarcastically.

"Fine. Next stop, the JLA Brownstone." Clark finally gave in. "Thank you." Zatanna sighed. Just then, the nearest two monitors beeped to life. "Incoming…" Chloe announced. Bart and Dinah had just checked in. "Buenos Dias!" Bart's smiling face appeared on the first view screen. In the background, two tan women in bikinis volleyed a ball across the net.

"Impulse!" Oliver smirked. "Keeping out of trouble?" Bart chuckled. "Absolutely no chance of that, amigo." He playfully boasted. "Check this out!" Bart bared his arm, displaying a gold lightning bolt tattoo. "I'm in Cancun, being rude, screwed, and tattooed."

"Colorful imagery." Chloe remarked as Zatanna grinned. "Is that the big Zee behind you, Watchtower?" Bart pressed his face against the miniature camera lens in the Com link watch Oliver had given everyone on the team. "Hey Impulse, what's going on?" Zatanna snickered. "Not too much, but you can cast a spell on me any day!" Bart flirted.

Dinah chimed in next. "Canary here. Watchtower, we have a problem." She announced seriously. "Why am I not surprised?" Oliver grumbled. "What's the sitch, Canary?" He asked, stepping quickly away from Chloe and Zatanna, to face the monitor alone.

"Something described as a large creature with the head of a snake and the body of a leopard just attacked a village outside of Buenos Aires." Dinah informed them. "No one was killed, but many villagers were injured. It basically scared everyone half to death. Care to shed some light on this critter?" Zatanna whistled. "That sounds like a Questing Beast." She remarked.

"A what?" Dinah scowled. "In Arthurian legend, the Questing Beast is an evil creature matching that description. It's usually brought to life by a powerful sorcerer or sorceress." Zatanna explained as Dinah gawked. "A mythological creature is alive and well in South America?" She sounded skeptical. "It's begun." Zatanna frowned. "The creatures are coming through the Veil."

"The Veil?" Dinah echoed. "Can the creature be killed?" Zatanna shook her head. "No. Only magical weapons or a sorcerer can defeat it. What's more, we mustn't kill it."

Clark's eyes widened. "Mustn't kill it?" He repeated. "No. The Questing Beast must be sent back through the Veil. The human world can't know of it, or any magical creatures." Zatanna replied.

"We're supposed to find this beast and ask it nicely to go home?" Impulse quipped.  
"Something like that." Zatanna confirmed. "The Questing Beast has a purpose in the magical realm. Under the right control, it hunts down dark magic and can kill any users. Think of it as a predator versus prey type of thing. The Questing Beast keeps the population of dark magic users down to a balance. That being said, it certainly doesn't belong in this realm."

The next monitor beeped. Chloe quickly snapped it on. "It's AC!" She told everyone. "Aquaman here. Watchtower, I don't know how to explain this, but a fifty foot winged serpent just tore up the area near a breakwater off the coast of Florida. No one was killed, but some people were injured, and sis' it made a mess!" AC explained.

"That's a Quetzalcoatl!" Zatanna contributed. "It was revered as a God by the ancient Toltec of Mexico." AC gawked at her through the monitor. "Is it dangerous?" He wondered aloud. "Not likely." Zatanna continued. "It may be confused, lost from its natural habitat in the magic realm. Where is it now?" AC shrugged. "It ate a speedboat and headed for deeper water."

"Probably got an upset stomach." Chloe joked. "Maybe it went out to deeper water to purge." AC grinned thinly. "Okay, that is not a pretty picture." Chloe said. "We'd better get moving." Clark urged. The next monitor beeped to life. "Now what?" Oliver scowled.

"Gold Wing here." Laura's masked face appeared on the screen. "Don't tell me, let me guess. Bigfoot just stomped his way through a Seven Eleven in Nebraska." Chloe responded cynically. "Not quite, Watchtower, but a twenty foot golden brown creature with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle just flew over some of the locals' farm fields."

"That would be a Griffin." Zatanna sighed tiredly. "Okay, well, your Griffin just picked up a couple of cattle for lunch." Laura's voice dripped with sarcasm. "It's not my Griffin." Zatanna playfully defended. "Whatever!" Gold Wing frowned. "No one was injured, but a couple of farmers want an explanation. Care to enlighten me?"

"No time, Gold Wing." Chloe said with urgency. "Can you pick up the trail of the Griffin?" Laura nodded. "Yup. I'll just follow the cattle pieces that it didn't like." Gold Wing offered. "Ew!" Zatanna commented. "Gold Wing, do not kill the Griffin. Repeat, do not kill the Griffin." She ordered. "Am I supposed to keep it as a pet?" Laura asked cynically.

"No. Just trust us." Clark put in. "We need to get the Griffin, and the rest of the creatures back to where they belong." Laura stood with her hands on her shapely hips. "Where did they come from anyway, the zoo from hell?" Zatanna smirked. "That's actually pretty close." She commented.

"Everyone keep in contact, and track your creatures." Oliver directed. "Arrow out." The screens went dark, and Clark turned towards Zatanna. "Let's get that Veil closed." He urged. "Yes, after we collect all the creatures, and Clark, there are worse things in the magical realm besides Griffins, Sea Serpents, and Questing Beasts." Zatanna added. "Terrific!" Oliver snarled.

"Great! I'll teleport us all over to the JLA HQ." Zatanna offered, extending her arms. "No! No! Chloe and I will take a car if you don't mind." Oliver hesitated. "I've had enough with magic for today." Chloe was puzzled. "Shouldn't I stay here and monitor the creature chases?"

"Nope, Chlo'." Oliver decided. "We can do it remotely with this." He said, handing her a small credit card sized device. "This is the latest in Queen Industries Tech. Think of it as a Raspberry with a thousand times more power." Chloe's eyes lit up. "Ooh! I love power tech." She took the device from Oliver's hand. "We need to get you out of the office more." He added playfully.

"Suit yourselves." Zatanna said, disappearing in a wisp of greenish blue smoke. Clark hyper sped away, arriving at the JLA Brownstone seconds before Zatanna. Chloe and Oliver hopped into an orange Lotus sports car and zipped down the street.

"Carter?" Clark called as he entered the dimly lit building. The JLA Museum pieces had been restored with care. "Carter?" Zatanna echoed, quickly spying the golden Helmet of Naboo. "What the hell do you want?" Carter's deep, gruff, voice resounded through the museum hallway.

"Sorry to bother you, but we need the Helmet of Naboo." Clark began politely. "Do you, now?" Carter snarled, checking out the leggy Zatanna as he walked over to Clark. "No!" Carter snapped. Clark scowled. Had Carter gone over the edge?

"No? What do you mean, no?" Zatanna hissed. "We need it to close…" Carter growled. "I know why you need it." He cut her off. "Can we please get this straightened out?" Clark pleaded. "First off, who will wear it?" Carter began, as he stalked towards one of the display cases.

"I said that I will." Clark stated boldly. "An alien?" Carter snickered. "You should talk, Carter!" Zatanna snapped. "No. The Helmet of Naboo must be worn by someone with scientific training." Carter insisted. "We're aware of the rule, but this is an exception." Clark said calmly.

"There are no exceptions." Carter bellowed. "Why are you being so obstinate?" Zatanna argued. "I could turn you into a toad, and then where will you be?" Carter chuckled. "Go for it, sweetie!" He had called Zatanna's bluff. "Hello?" Oliver and Chloe had arrived.

"Well if it ain't the Green Pumpkin!" Carter razzed Ollie. "Watchtower! It's good to meet you face to face again." He beckoned Chloe closer to him. Clark and Zatanna were growing frustrated. "Carter, please! This is important!" Clark continued to work on Hawkman.

"How important?" Carter toyed with them. "Hello! End of the world important!" Zatanna yelled. "Is she always this noisy?" Carter asked Chloe, who remained silent. "Carter, be reasonable!" Zatanna lowered her tone. "I could always have Clark pound it out of you, and take the Helmet."

"Ha! He could try!" Carter scoffed. "Space boy doesn't have the stones!" Oliver pointed a finger at Carter. "You want something!" Hawkman laughed gruffly. "Very good, green bean, there may be hope for you yet." He coughed. "What do you want? Money? A new car? A night on the town?" Oliver ticked off some temptations.

"No. None of that." Carter was more serious. "Something more valuable than all of that. Something that you can't possibly understand." Clark was beginning to get his drift. "Chloe! You must wear the Helmet." Carter suddenly instructed. "You alone can push back the invisible curtain of the Veil. There are more than just magical creatures on the other side…"

Carter's hint unnerved Clark. "I'll do it." Chloe stepped forward, within grabbing distance of Carter and the Helmet. "Good! Here!"

Hawkman quickly removed the glass top from the case that held the magical golden helmet. "That's it?" Zatanna asked incredulously.

"You, more than anyone else, know that there is always a price to pay for magic." Carter threatened. "No! I don't like this, Carter!" Clark argued. "Well, what would you like, Boy Scout?" Hawkman challenged. Chloe hesitated before taking the golden helmet. "Do I put it on, now?" Chloe asked nervously, retracting her hands.

"You fear it! That's good!" Carter observed. "No, Chloe, you should limit your exposure to the helmet as much as possible. This is your responsibility alone, can you handle it?" Hawkman asked the required question. "Yes." Chloe said bravely.

Carter handed her the Helmet of Naboo. Chloe gingerly took it, feeling its power start to course through the air around them. A brilliant blue light shone beneath the helmet. "One more thing, Chloe." Carter began. "Only you must say these sacred words to activate the helmet, otherwise it's merely gaudy ornamentation." He instructed.

Hawkman bent down close to Chloe's ear. "Wait a minute!" Carter gestured at Clark. "That goes for you, too, aerial ears." Clark scowled. "What if something, gods forbid, happens to Chloe before she can close the Veil? Shouldn't somebody else know the words?" He argued.

"Well, I guess that you'd better not let anything happen to her, Boy Scout." Hawkman snarled. "That goes for all of you. This must not fail." Carter whispered the phrase to Chloe. The helmet's light brightened considerably. Clark only heard part of the phrase, which meant nothing to him.

"What's that mean?" Chloe asked, repeating the strange words in her mind. "Beats me." Carter admitted. "It must be some ritualistic mumbo jumbo, yet that's exactly the way Kent Nelson said the words." Oliver rolled his eyes. "Are you sure about the pronunciation?"

"Yes, green jeans, I am." Carter smirked. "Now you must take Chloe and the helmet to the deserts outside of Las Vegas, Nevada." Zatanna's eyebrows went up. "Sin City? Why?" She inquired. "Because that's where the Veil can become visible. There also would be very few, if any, witnesses." Carter replied.

Zatanna sighed tiredly. "Come on! We still have to gather the escaped creatures!" She urged. "Thanks, Carter." Clark said without much enthusiasm. "I'm going with." Hawkman decided. "You're going to need all the help you can get to clean up this mess."

"Which reminds me…" Oliver scoffed. "How are we going to get these beasts, especially the fifty foot sea serpent to a desert near Vegas?" Zatanna chuckled. "Simple! We use magic!"

Clark frowned as his cell phone rang. "Lois!" He said to no one in particular. "Ignore her!" Carter instructed. "No! No way! Not this time!" Clark stated boldly. Chloe and Oliver exchanged glances as Zatanna shrugged.


	14. Chapter 14: Revealed

**Chapter 14:** _Revealed_

Clark waited until they left the JLA Brownstone to answer. "Yeah Lois?" He asked innocently, wincing as Lois's vocal volume went up substantially. Zatanna shook her head as they tried to walk casually towards Ollie's orange sports car.

"Uh Zee…this is a two-seater." Oliver pointed out. "No way! I am not letting that helmet out of my sight." Zatanna complained. "Console city, baby!" Chloe teased. "Um…no…how about this?" Zatanna's lips curled up. She snapped her fingers, and was immediately in the driver's seat. Oliver found himself in the passenger's seat, with Chloe in his lap.

"Wait…" Oliver begged. "Works for me!" Chloe shifted her weight and nuzzled next to Oliver. Zatanna peeled out, startling Clark and Carter. "Nice teamwork!" Hawkman criticized as he watched the sports car haul down the street.

Meanwhile, Lois was excitedly explaining all of the strange happenings reported around the world. Finally, she got around to 'Clark, where the hell are you? We have stories to cover! All hell is breaking loose.' Clark nodded, aware of how accurate Lois's statement really was.

Carter got disgusted and went back into the JLA Brownstone, grabbing his golden wings and helmet from its secured hiding place, and put them on. He flew out the attic window, leaving Clark at ground level. Again Clark wished that he could fly. It would save a lot of time.

"Smallville! Get over to Centro Park!" Lois directed as she jogged through the newsroom and into the Daily Planet lobby. "Meet me by the lion statues. It's like a renaissance fair nightmare! Knights and gladiators are fighting each other with swords and staffs, and they're not playing! Metropolis PD is already on the way! They've called for backup in riot gear!"

"When it rains, it pours!" Clark muttered. He quickly called Kara for his own backup. She would likely have to corral some, if not all of the magical creatures, given that she could at least fly. His hope was that Kara could drag the Quetzalcoatl and Questing Beast back to Nevada. Laura might be able to catch the Griffin, and bring that in as well, using her blinding speed.

Bart could aid them, too. He called Impulse on the new Queen Industries Com link. Maybe with his speed, they could hasten the knights and gladiators' return to Nevada. But, how to explain all of this? Clark wondered. He couldn't think of one lame explanation that he could use.

Clark still had a few minutes before Lois would make it to Centro Park. It might just be enough time for he and Bart to collect the knights and gladiators before MPD showed up. Back at the Planet, Lois hustled out of the lobby elevator and began to sprint for the revolving door.

"Excuse me, Miss Lane?" A sweet young female voice asked. Lois reluctantly skidded to a stop. "Hi! I'm in kind of a hurry…did we have a meeting?" She asked as the red-haired teen stood by patiently. "Barbara Gordon." She extended a hand. Lois hurriedly shook it.

"Yes, Miss Gordon." Lois watched as a slightly taller teen with lengthy black hair approached them. "Mr. White mentioned that you and your friend might be stopping by." The young man glanced at Lois approvingly. "Dick Grayson." He also shook her hand.

"Listen, I'm chasing a hot lead!" Lois began to shuffle away. "Can I take a rain check? Nice to meet you both!" She spun out the revolving door without waiting for an answer from the stunned teens. "You know we have to follow her, now!" Dick pointed out, but Barb was already halfway out the door. Lois flagged down a cab, but gave up on it after about a two-block ride.

She paid the driver and jogged the rest of the way into Centro Park. Two motorcycles roared up behind the cab. "There she goes!" Barb gestured. "Ready?" Dick nodded. "Bruce is not going to like this." Barb said as she turned her motorcycle into the park, Dick rolling at her heel.

The teens drove the cycles carefully but quickly through the main thoroughfare of the park. "Where did she…?" Barb began as Dick pointed towards an empty field. "Just follow the screams!" He shouted to her above the din of the Wayne Nippon motorcycles.

Dozens of people were running from a section of the park screaming and yelling into their cell phones. "It's a riot!" Barb overheard one park patron saying as she jogged across a nearby grassy hill. "Riot?" Dick echoed. "We better check it out!" He urged. "Did we pack the bat tear gas?" Barb inquired. "Never leave home without it." Dick quipped.

All of this activity alerted two unwelcome Metropolis visitors. "Grog! What's all that racket?" Granny croaked as she hid in the shadows beneath a large Oak tree. "I can barely hear the master." The dark skinned alien popped his elongated head over the grassy ridge.

"There's some type of fight going on near the other side of the park." Grog's gravelly voice responded. "Ooh! Sounds like fun! There may be hope for this wimpy world yet!" Granny commented. "Where there's trouble…there's that goody two shoes Kal El! Come on! Let's go!"

Granny waved a jeweled baton, and they were quickly whisked away to the fight scene. The whole melee was ludicrous, with jousting knights on horseback challenging each other, other knights waving around gleaming broadswords, and gladiators fighting each other with spears and shields. "Now this is more like it!" Granny applauded approvingly.

"Look! There's Kal El!" Grog growled as he spied Clark dodging a jousting knight and grabbing two more gladiators by their spears. Suddenly they were gone. Ten more knights disappeared next, and five jousters and horses next. "Kal El is fast!" Grog praised.

More knights, gladiators, and jousters seemed to evaporate into thin air. Clark stopped briefly to take a break, when Grog spotted him. "There's Kal El! I'm going to smash his face into the ground!" He growled. "No! You ninny noodnik!" Granny bellowed. "The master deemed that we observe Kal El, find his strengths and weaknesses!"

"Bah! You observe while I pound the Kryptonian's face into the mud!" Grog snarled, and leapt from their hiding space. "Grog! Don't! You'll be sorry!" Granny hollered, but it was too late. "Oh for…! It's so hard to find good evil minions nowadays!" She was on the Com link to Darkseid.

Grog blindsided Clark, punching him square in the cheekbone. He flew across the field and into an old maple tree, halving it into splinters. Clark was stunned that he'd actually felt the blow. His cheek immediately bruised, and began to change color. This was clearly no ordinary magical creature, he mused. Aware of how odd that sounded.

Clark straightened up, and zipped back to Grog, nailing him with a right cross uppercut to the jaw. The alien flew backwards across the park, landing harmlessly against a rocky backdrop. The decorative rocks scattered in every direction, raining down on that end of the park.

Clark sped over to catch a look. The creature was roughly seven feet tall, and resembled a cross between an ape and a lizard. Its huge eyes were black as coal. "Grrrr!" Grog was dazed, but coherent. "Clark!" Lois yelled from across the meadow. He risked a quick glance at her, and hesitated briefly. It was long enough for Grog to come to his senses.

Grog leapt up and decked Clark, sending him sprawling back to the original fight scene. Only a few more confused knights and gladiators milled about, occasionally striking out at each other with their crude weapons. "Oh my God!" Lois shrieked as she watched Clark sail through the air.

Grog laughed heartily as he began his jog back towards Clark. Fortunately, Grog had very little speed at all. Lois took off running after him, choosing a parallel course away from the monster. "It's a good thing that I changed to my jogging shoes!" She muttered, passing Grog easily.

Clark was partially knocked out by Grog's blow. His eyes closed briefly as he dazedly awaited the next impact. None came. Clark suddenly felt himself go vertical, but his speed slowed to a stop. Clark was floating about two feet above the grassy field!  
Clark opened his eyes fully, and dropped to the ground without further injury.

Momentarily, he had defied gravity! "Are you okay, amigo?" Bart suddenly appeared beside him. "Yeah! That creature got the best of me, caught me by surprise. I'll be all right. Thanks Bart."

"Good! Because we still have to round up the rest of the knights and gladiators." Bart reminded him, but by now, Lois was nearing the scene of the melee. Clark gasped. How much had she seen? Grog rumbled towards them, and was correcting course to attack Lois.

"Damn it!" Clark said as he vaulted forward, sailing nearly thirty feet through the air, and landed in between Lois and Grog. Bart went back to gathering the lost beings from the magical realm. "Back off!" Clark barked at Grog, who subsequently took a swing at him. This time, Clark was ready for him, and dodged the creature's punch with some effort.

Lois was in shock, trying to process what she'd just seen. Instinct took over, and she grabbed a fallen tree branch and waved it menacingly at Grog, distracting him. "Lois! What the hell are you doing? You're going to get hurt!" Clark yelled as he dove low, avoiding another swing by Grog.

"I'm saving your ass, Smallville!" Lois said bravely, jabbing at Grog with the sharp edge of the branch. Grog laughed loudly, startling them. He reached out to grab at Lois's throat, but Clark was faster, deflecting the blow. He took a deep breath, knowing what the consequences of his next action would mean. Grog nailed Clark with a vicious left to the mouth.

The punch connected with Clark's upper lip, splitting it. Blood spattered all over Lois's outfit. Clark went down in a heap at Lois's feet. He was dazed and took a labored breath. Fortunately, Grog was still woozy from Clark's original uppercut. "Clark! What are you trying to prove…taking on this monster?" Lois was on the verge of crying.

She knelt down, brushing the blood from Clark's chin. "_Sometimes I feel like I know everything about you, and sometimes I feel like I don't know you at all_." Lois choked on the words. "It's like you're two…completely different people." She concluded, gasping, and standing up. Grog wavered a bit, but readied a balled fist to pound Clark's head into the ground with.

Clark grasped what passed for Grog's wrist, and literally flipped the monster over his shoulder, grazing Lois in the process. Grog landed with a thunderous crack that caused a shock wave, which vibrated the ground beneath them. Lois gaped at Clark while she steadied her stance.

"It's you!" She whipped the branch at Grog's fallen form and jumped into Clark's arms as he stood up, kissing him passionately. "You're the Blur!" She added, as the shock set in.

"I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, Lois." Clark sighed with relief, feeling that a gigantic weight was lifted off of his broad shoulders. "I wanted to tell you so many times." He continued, as she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry that I lied to you." He added.

"I understand." Lois said tearfully. "You were just trying to protect me, when I should've been protecting you. It all makes sense. The unexplained disappearances, lame ass excuses, hanging out with Oliver, ditching me time and time again." She rambled playfully.

"I should've known that something was wrong." Lois laughed nervously. "I mean seriously, why would you keep trying to lose a **hot babe **like me?" Clark smiled brightly, hugging her. "No more secrets, no more lies, and now you know that I have an important job to do, as do you." Clark stated. "As you might expect, we're in the middle of saving the world, yet again."

"Oh my God! Chloe!" Lois exclaimed. "My younger cousin is up to her pretty little neck in this, isn't she? Along with Oliver, Lana, Kara, and the rest of the crew." Clark nodded. "Relax, Lois, this is a lot to take in all at once." She snickered. "I'm in! So little time, so many _asses_ to kick!"

Clark laughed heartily. Grog lay motionless in the dirt, knocked completely out. Granny watched with interest from her hiding place beside a darkened knoll. "I may throw up!" She croaked, witnessing the romantic scene. Her Com link buzzed. "Master? I'm sorry. I couldn't control Grog. That pea brain of his…he confronted Kal El, and lost miserably."

"It is of little consequence, Granny." Darkseid's deep voice boomed through the link. "We may have to accelerate our plans some. Is Grog dead?" Granny double-checked on the fallen alien monster, craning her withered neck above the knoll's edge. "No, he's just out cold. Kal El won't kill him…that is his main weakness."

"That figures." Darkseid scoffed. "Jor El was the same way. Is Grog still wearing his reeducation belt?" Again, Granny risked a look at the huge, furry minion. "Yes, My Lord." Darkseid grinned thinly. "Perfect." He pressed a diamond-shaped button on his huge, ornate, throne.

Grog's body convulsed. A few wisps of smoke rose from the belt, and black, smoldering blood oozed from Grog's mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. The creature's heart stopped. Darkseid had killed him from another planet, to prevent the creature from answering any questions.

"Clark! Did you see that?" Lois was horrified as Clark examined Grog's lifeless body. "Dead." He shook his head in disgust, quickly glancing around.

A thunderous boom startled Clark. Lois fell into his arms, her stance disrupted by the shock wave. A glowing circle appeared, and three ugly, lizard-like creatures grabbed Grog's body, and just as quickly disappeared.

The glowing circle receded into a quarter-sized ball of light before evaporating completely. This all took a few seconds. Clark silently berated himself for not reacting more quickly, yet he still held Lois in his arms, finally pulling her in close to him.

"What the hell have we gotten into, here?" Lois asked as she turned to face Clark, simultaneously rubbing the bruised and bloodied side of his face. "I don't know, Lois, but I'm sure that we'll find out soon enough." He carefully searched the meadow and the surrounding area with his enhanced vision, but saw only the MPD officers running through the park towards them.

Bart had carried off the last of the knights, and gladiators. Their section of the park was now deserted. Lois held onto Clark tightly. "We'd better go, Lois. I don't want to answer any of the police department's questions." She nodded as he smirked.

"You don't get sick on carnival rides, do you, Lois?" Clark chuckled. "No…why?" She stared up into his eyes. "Hold on!" Clark shifted into hyper speed after picking her up. In seconds, they were in the alley behind the Daily Planet. "Wow! What a rush!" Lois said excitedly.

"I've always wanted to do that when you were conscious." Clark admitted. Lois grinned sheepishly. "You must save a fortune in cab fare!" She quipped.


	15. Chapter 15: Revealed 2

**Revealed** continues Chapter 15 –– _This chapter is huge_!

"Lois, what do you think? Did you want to head back to the office and file our report?" He asked hesitantly. "I can hardly think about anything else!" Lois hugged him tightly. "I mean, you're it…you're the biggest news there is…you're the Blur." She rambled excitedly.

"Maybe we ought to go somewhere more private?" Clark offered, fearing that someone on the street would overhear them. "I guess so." Lois was now less sure of herself. The shock was starting to set in. "Uh…let's take the elevator this time." He took her by the hand and led her through the alley and into the Daily Planet lobby. Lois had gone silent again.

In the elevator, they usually stole a moment to make out. Now, Lois stood beside him in stunned silence. Clark was beginning to worry that he'd made a mistake, using his powers in front of her. He rationalized that he'd had no choice. The creature would have likely ripped Lois to shreds.

The elevator door opened, and the noisy newsroom attracted their attention. Workers scurried from one side of the floor to the other. Lois felt as if she was slogging through a dream. Had she truly seen what she thought she saw?

Clark absently guided her to their shared desks. Lois glanced at his nameplate. She turned towards him with a pained expression on her face. "Is your name really Clark Kent?" She asked, her voice just above a whisper. "Yes." He responded. "And no."

"Huh?" Lois was growing more confused by the second. "It's either the truth, or it isn't." She added with a hurt tone in her voice. "See, Lois, there are two truths." Clark began, mindful of a number of employees that were edging in closer to them.

"What?" Lois's eyes narrowed. "Should I stop calling you Smallville?" Clark shook his head. "Please don't, Lois. I kind of like it." He tentatively touched her shoulder, and she did flinch a bit, before regaining her composure. "It reminds me who I am, and where I came from."

"Lois, do you trust me?" Clark stared directly into her eyes. She took a moment to respond, getting lost in his gaze. "Yes." Lois gulped. "I have an idea." Clark forced a thin grin. "Come with me?" He extended a hand to her. She took it, but her hand was trembling.

Clark guided her to the rooftop exit, and gently shoved the locked door open, mentally promising to fix it later. He led her to the center of the roof, and stopped, turning to face her. The sun was starting to lower on the distant horizon. Lois took a deep breath. "So, talk to me." She urged.

Clark felt her hand steady, but he could hear her heart beating double time. "Okay, Lois, relax." Clark tried to soothe her with his voice. Lois nodded, but her heart kept pounding. "Maybe I should get you a drink?" He asked half seriously. "I still have some of that wine from earlier in the year." Lois put on a brave face. "No, Clark, I'm fine. Just surprised, that's all."

"Seriously, have I been high this entire time?" Lois's eyes glazed over. "I lived with you! You're a superhero?" Clark had a profound sense of déjà vu. They'd played out this scene last year, and it didn't work out well, to say the least. This time, though, Linda Lake wasn't here to be the proverbial fly in the superhero ointment, he mused.  
"Clark, who else knows?" Lois hesitated. "I've been pretty bad about keeping my secret." Clark admitted. "My Mom and Dad and Chloe have known for years. Lana and Oliver more recently, Lionel Luthor, so does my friend Pete, though you never met him. Tess Mercer…"

Lois gasped. "Tess? You told Tess before me?" Clark shook his head. "No. Tess found out on her own she's very devious, but also very smart. Then there's Kara…" He hesitated to go into any further detail about his cousin without her permission.

"Let me start from the beginning." Clark explained about his alien parents choosing to save his life, and the destruction of his home world. "That's horrible!" She interrupted for a second. "Yet, it makes perfect sense. I'd do virtually anything to save my family as well."

"So, you're not a super meteor freak!" Lois shook her head with amazement. "Are you…uh…normal? Meaning, um…can you do…what we can?" She gulped. "Lois, you're blushing. I'm as normal as I can be. Though everything I do takes practice." He flirted.

Lois chuckled. "Nice pass, Mr. former Quarterback!" She quipped, beginning to relax. Clark felt better about his decision to come clean, moving closer to her. "So, what do you have under the hood?" Lois asked as her eyes sparkled. "Huh?" Clark noted that this conversation differed slightly from the last time. "Spill it. What kind of powers do you have?" She grilled.

"Well, I'll just throw it all out there." Clark cleared his throat. "I'm very strong, I can move very fast, as you've seen…but not too fast!" He flirted as Lois grinned. "I can shoot fire out of my eyes…" Clark winced. "Okay. Well, there's that." Lois flashed him a puzzled glance. "I suppose that would come in handy on camping trips!" She teased.

"I can hear a dog barking from miles away." Clark continued. "I'm sure that Shelby appreciates that." Lois interrupted again. "I can see through solid objects, I can leap over tall buildings in a single bound…" He ticked off the powers that he'd mastered so far.

"Hold on!" Lois snickered. "Run that 'see through solid objects' by me again." Clark expected her to cover up her unmentionables. Instead, this time, she stood defiantly before him, placing her hands on her shapely hips. "Fine. What color underwear am I wearing?" She taunted.

"Lois, you tell me what color they are practically on a daily basis." Clark hedged. "Yeah, but I haven't told you yet today, have I?" She challenged. "No, I guess you haven't." He replied as Lois tapped her foot expectantly. "Light sky blue panties with the matching sky blue bra, with whitish frilly fringes." Clark answered, feeling his eyes begin to heat up.

"Lois, is that a thong?" He narrowed his eyes. This time Lois reddened. "Okay, too much information…moving on." She stammered. "Why are you here? I mean beyond the fact that your biological parents saved you? You have a specific destiny, don't you?"

"Lois, I believe that everyone has a destiny, but that only they are in charge of it." Clark responded cautiously. "Yeah, but you have a higher purpose, otherwise your biological parents wouldn't have given you extraordinary abilities." Lois sounded more like a reporter doing an interview than a shocked girlfriend that just found out that her boyfriend was a space alien.

"My parents gave me extraordinary abilities to ensure my survival." Clark pointed out. "If things were reversed, don't you think that you would give your child or children every advantage possible?" Lois thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, of course I would." She replied.

"Lois, you can't write a story about me." Clark had to calm her down and get her refocused on the problems at hand. She was strangely silent, never a good sign, he thought. "I mean, not that I would give my story to anyone else." He stuttered. "But I'm not ready. The world is not ready."

"What?" Lois's big eyes blinked rapidly in disbelief. "Of course the world is ready for you. Look at Metropolis. The place is a cesspool. From coast to coast the country is going to hell in a Prada handbag. Now is exactly when we all need a superhero." She argued.

"Clark, should we inform Chloe about our change in status?" Lois flirted heavily. "Yes, I guess we might just as well get it all out there." He replied. "Clark, about this Blur name…" Lois chuckled. "I think that we can do better. I mean blur has some negative connotations. You know, like 'blurred vision', 'blurred thinking', it was 'over in a blur'."

Clark warily held her tight. This time she didn't flinch, and fully relaxed into his arms. "Lois, I have confidence that you'll come up with a better name than that." He glanced out over the slowly darkening city. "I'll get right on it." She quipped.

"Actually, I'm hungry." Clark announced. "Really? You eat…I mean, of course you eat…I've seen you." Lois stuttered. "I eat because I enjoy it, not because I have to. Mom Kent's fresh fried chicken, fresh baked apple pie, nice cold orange juice…" Clark went on as Lois turned to the skyline. They watched the sunset in each other's arms. Clark felt that he was finally at peace.

next;Watchtower


	16. Chapter 16: Revealed 3

_**Chapter 16** Revealed_ – Scene: _Lois and Clark are atop the Daily Planet building_.

"Chinese, okay?" Clark asked the starry eyed Lois. "Uh Huh." She warily glanced over the edge of the Daily Planet's rooftop. "Ready? Hold on!" Clark grinned as Lois stepped in close to him, actually resting her weight on Clark's feet. Lois took a deep breath as she clung to him.

"Up, up, and away!" He quipped as he gathered the power beneath his feet, bending his knees, and springing up from the rooftop, just below the familiar spinning gold Daily Planet globe. "Waaah!" Lois yelled as she dared to look down. Metropolis's cityscape spun beneath them.

"Are you… sure about this, Smallville?" Lois asked between gasps, as the cool, damp, night air rushed past her. "Actually, I've only done this once or twice before." Clark teased as they soared above the medium height Metropolis skyscrapers. "I bet you say that to all the girls!" Lois taunted as Clark landed with more confidence and grace than usual.

"See!" Clark smirked. "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." He set the stunned Lois down on the greasy rooftop of Ming Wah's Chinese Restaurant. She grabbed his forearm to steady her balance. The quick jump had made her a bit woozy. Clark held her closely until she stabilized her footing. Lois smiled brightly and glanced around the dingy roof.

"A dark, greasy roof just seems to scream romance, Smallville." She teased. "That was fun, but how do we get into the restaurant, through the ventilation ducts?" Lois joked. Clark had assumed that Ming Wah's had a rooftop entrance. Obviously, he'd miscalculated.

Clark watched her tenderly. "Well, there's always the fire escape!" He quipped. Lois glanced down at her shoes. "I love my Bloominghale's pumps, Clark. I doubt if they'd be much use in climbing down eight stories of fire escape."

Clark zipped across the roof, startling Lois. He took a quick peek over the roof edge at the fire escape, and two Chinese cooks were sitting on the third floor landing smoking. That's out. Clark mused. He sped to the rear of the building, and stared down into the darkened alley. That'll work. He decided as he zoomed back to Lois, scattering dust and debris behind her.

Clark scooped her up in his arms. "Whoa!" Lois was taken aback, but soon relaxed into cuddling him. He sped to the rear of the building, double-checking for any possible eyewitnesses. Clear. He grinned as Lois glanced warily up at him. "Going down!" He announced playfully, and vaulted over the side of the roof, landing lightly behind a huge metal garbage scowl.

"Nice!" Lois's eyes sparkled. "A dark, smelly alley! Smallville, you sure know how to treat a girl!" She teased. "Not that I'm dwelling." Clark chuckled as he held Lois's hand and they proceeded to Ming Wah's highly decorative, ornate entrance. Two shiny golden dragon statues lined the three-step stairway that led to the restaurant's lobby.

"Sorry, Lois, today did not go at all as planned." Clark gallantly apologized. She cupped his chin in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Hey, I wouldn't trade this day for anything in the world." Lois flirted as she inspected his rapidly healing cheek. "You're looking better, that creature didn't do too much damage." She leaned against him, and Clark reflexively placed his arm around her.

They entered the restaurant and were greeted by a well-dressed host. "Table for two, please." Clark ordered politely. They held hands, following the host to a dimly lit booth. "Do you bring all your dates here, Clark?" Lois asked warily. "To be honest, Lois, as the Blur, I don't have a lot of time to date." He replied, lowering his voice, and bending towards her ear.

"I see…but as Clark Kent, you would?" Lois pried, in her reporter's mode again. Clark waited for her to be seated. "Exactly. Hence the dual identity." He admitted after the host had left. "This is so cool!" Lois gushed happily. "I can have my fortune cookie and eat it to!" She beamed.

Clark cast her a puzzled glance as the waitress approached their table. The multicolored Chinese lanterns ringed the booth, flickering occasionally, and setting a romantic mood. "What do you mean, Lois?" He asked, as the waitress set down their glasses of ice water.

"I simply meant that I LLL…" She gulped, catching a breath before speaking further. "I can have the best of both worlds." She qualified mid sentence. "Mild mannered, highly conservative, Clark Kent, and the mysterious and wild…Blur." Lois dutifully lowered her voice. "It's a dream come true." Clark reddened. "Not to bring us down, but it's been more of a nightmare to me."

"Nightmare?" Lois echoed as she sipped the icy water. "Yes. I've been piling lies on top of lies for years." Clark admitted. "Finally, I'm tired of it. I just wanted to be me. I hated hiding myself from you, from the rest of the world." Clark wistfully sipped his water.

"What about 'coming out' so to speak?" Lois asked the obvious, trying not to sound like she was angling for an interview. "You mean just being the Blur?" He nervously glanced around and lowered his voice. Confident that no one had heard him, he continued.

"I thought about that." He felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "I wanted to fit in, just be plain ol' Clark Kent. That's never worked so far." Lois began to consider the vast implications of what Clark was saying.

"I love…um…" Clark reddened as the waitress slowed down to take their orders. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to just order their food. After the waitress left, Clark took both of Lois's hands in his. "I love…just writing stories for the Daily Planet. I love…working with you as often as I can." Lois was momentarily lost in his eyes.

She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "You can't." She said softly. "Can't what?" Clark prodded. "You can't give up being the Blur…" She barely lowered her voice in time as a young couple passed close to their table. "Not for me, not for anyone." Lois said as her eyes began to tear. "That's why I chose to try and live this dual life." Clark confessed. "It won't be easy."

"People do it all the time." Lois reasoned. "Ollie, for one. You should think of yourself as a fireman, policeman, doctor, FBI agent, or whatever. All of those people either face constant danger, or are on call 24 seven. The FBI guys aren't even allowed to tell their families what they do." She continued to ramble excitedly. "I could do it." Lois steeled her resolve.

"Do what?" Clark inquired. "Be Lois Lane, star reporter, and the Blur's girlfriend." She replied. Lois had forgotten to lower her voice this time, and an Asian girl at another table, poked her head out from behind the menu to look straight at them. "We'd better discuss all this at home." Clark said absently. "Home? When do I get to take you home?" Lois flirted heavily.

Meanwhile, in the Nevada desert outside of Las Vegas, things were not going that well. Kara had to knock out the Questing Beast, and drag its limp body back to America beneath the cover of darkness. AC had been only somewhat successful with the Quetzalcoatl.

Laura and Canary had managed to corral the Griffin, and made it fly back to Nevada. Every time the Griffin tried to veer off course, Canary had let loose with a low level burst of sound. Gold Wing chuckled as she dodged the beast's flailing wing. "Hell, that's better than that electronic fence device that people use to keep their dogs from straying away from their yard."

Laura had stuffed her ears with cotton to limit Canary's sound damage. They landed the Griffin near the other magical creatures, and Gold Wing held it down with a chain she'd 'borrowed' from a road construction tractor.

Oliver had flown Chloe, Zatanna, and Victor in from Metropolis by jet. Hawkman soared through the skies behind them, managing to stay in the cloudbanks away from possible onlookers. The team assembled in the darkness behind a large, craggy mountain range that ringed Las Vegas.

Bart had chased the remaining gladiators and knights into a small, nearby canyon where they continued to battle each other. "Hola, sweet legs!" He flirted with Zatanna, who merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Behave Impulse, or she'll turn you into a rock lizard!" AC taunted him.

"Where the hell is Clark?" Oliver grumbled as he avoided the Quetzalcoatl's swinging, feathered tail. "More appropriately, how could we explain the bizarre creatures to any passersby?" Chloe pointed out. Laura dragged the stubborn Griffin into the center of the group. "We'll just say it's a new Vegas attraction to go with their famous White Tiger show." Zatanna playfully remarked.

Before Clark's battle with Grog, Dick and Barbara had trailed Lois to Centro Park. They'd lost her in all of the confusion. They happened upon the bizarre scene of the riot between the gladiators and the knights. As far as they could tell, no one had yet been seriously injured.

Suddenly a handful of knights seemed to disappear. "Did you see that?" Barb pointed to the raging battle. "It looked like they disappeared." Dick scratched his head. "Some type of illusion, perhaps created with mirrors?" He speculated. "We'll have to try and catch Miss Lane at the Daily Planet tomorrow morning." Barb said in frustration.

Lois and Clark had enjoyed a time-shortened meal together. After they'd eaten and paid, Clark escorted her out the ornate front door. "I take it we're heading back to the alley?" Lois asked with a sly grin. "Yeah. Pretty much. I can't stay tonight, Lois." Clark reddened.

"I'm supposed to be helping Oliver save the world, remember?" He added as they held hands and turned into the alley. Some passersby glared at them with disapproval. After reassuring himself that no one could see them, Clark scooped Lois up in his arms.  
He sped them back to the Daily Planet parking lot so Lois could retrieve her car. "I think that I enjoyed your super leap better." Lois playfully criticized as she brushed back her hair with one arm. "It's easier on my stomach." She held him close, unwilling to let go.

"I have to go." Clark said, tenderly brushing the hair from Lois's eyes. He kissed her on the cheek. Lois quickly grabbed his arm and insisted on a long, passionate kiss instead. "Good night!" Clark smiled brightly. "I hope to see you early tomorrow at work."

Lois finally unclenched, and Clark zipped into hyper speed in front of her. "Wow! What a super man." She said as she relished their kiss one more time. "Super man?" She considered aloud. Clark zoomed back to Smallville for a change of clothes, donning his Blur outfit.

Clark sped over to Nevada, swearing that he'd left his feet a few times along the way. The team was encircling the troublesome magical creatures. Chloe held the Helmet of Naboo under her arm like a motorcycle helmet. "Hello! Nice of you to grace us with your presence." Zatanna chided him. "I got tied up?" Clark sheepishly grinned at them.

"Yeah, with Lois, no doubt!" Laura ragged on him. "Actually yes, we had a nice dinner together." Clark defended with a knowing smile. Chloe looked at him with bewilderment. Something's different, her suspicious nature proved to be right on the money where Clark was concerned.

"Awesome!" AC praised. "I always said that Lois was hot, bro'." Bart zipped into the middle of the conversation. "Alright, CK!" He exclaimed. "Clark and the Lo La! Way to go, amour!" Zatanna sighed. "Boys! Can we focus, here? Broken veil, Naboo, Chloe…get it?"

"Can't you just bippity, boppity, boo this veil open, Zee?" Oliver asked, still worried about Chloe's possession of Dr. Fate's Helmet. "Sorry Ollie! This level of magic is above my talent limit." Zatanna confessed. "I only hope that Chloe can zap the damn veil open and close it."

Kara circled back down to join the group. "Hey cuz!" She waved at Clark. Hawkman watched the young super girl with admiration as she floated to the ground effortlessly. Just like Shayera used to do, he recalled wistfully the many adventures he and his wife shared.

"Let's do this!" Chloe announced bravely, as she positioned the helmet above her head. Clark had sidled over next to his good friend of many years. "Chloe, be careful! If we see that the helmet is doing some type of damage, we're pulling you out. We'll find another way."

"It had better work, Clark, because if you pull the helmet off of Chloe too soon, it might scramble her brain like Kent Nelson." Hawkman warned sternly. "Carter, it's too risky!" Oliver complained. "I've got it, Ollie. Let's just get it done." Chloe decided and shoved the helmet onto her head. Immediately, Chloe screamed as the helmet's blue light nearly blinded everyone.

Chloe fell to the ground convulsing, as the team watched in horror. "It's killing her!" Clark grabbed for the helmet with alarm. "I got it, Clark!" Chloe said in Naboo's deep voice, as she scrambled to her knees. Clark held onto her elbow to help her up.

Suddenly, Clark's future passed by Chloe's new magically enhanced sight. She witnessed him donning the blue and red suit soaring through the clouds, a possible upcoming wedding with Lois, in full white dress mode, Clark complimenting her with a sharp black tuxedo. She saw a type of headquarters in outer space, and finally, dozens of heroes in colorful costumes.

"This isn't so bad." Chloe said in Naboo's voice. Clark let her stand on her own. "Focus, Chloe, focus!" Carter urged. She recited the magic words that Hawkman had given to her. Chloe transformed into Dr. Fate's gold and blue outfit. She began to hover above the burning sands of the Nevada desert.

A thunderous crack was heard as the very air around them seemed to split and splinter into a miles long rip in the universe. "Quickly, gather the magical creatures!" Zatanna ordered. Kara grabbed the Questing Beast, and tossed it into the void by its tail.

Laura rode the Griffin straight for the tear in the veil, jumping to one side and yanking the chains off of the huge apparition as it sailed into the next dimension. Clark picked up the Quetzalcoatl, and tossed it effortlessly through the open veil as well.

Canary, Bart, AC, and Oliver chased the gladiators and knights through the canyon and into the dimensional shift, as Zatanna produced a fifty-foot illusionary gold dragon to speed them along. Chloe was starting to falter, as she fell back to earth and balanced on one knee.

The size of the rift began to recede until it was barely the size of a semi tractor and trailer. A single shadowy creature appeared near the rapidly closing veil's edge. It had golden wings and a golden facial helmet. Its figure was petite and obviously female.

"Close the veil, Chloe!" Clark ordered as she fell to both knees. "No! Wait just one more second!" Hawkman growled as he flew to meet the onrushing apparition. He grabbed the creature by both hands, and pulled her out, just as the void was about to close on her thin waist.

They tumbled to the ground at Oliver's feet. "Chloe! Remove the helmet!" He yelled just as she fell flat on her back on the gravely sand. With a huge effort, Chloe removed the helmet, placing it on the ground at her side. Her costume disappeared, and her ragged clothing reappeared.

Clark was the first to help her up, physically carrying her away from the helmet. Carter picked up Dr. Fate's helmet and placed it under one arm, simultaneously helping the woman to her feet. "Everyone, this is my wife, and the love of all my lives, Shayera Hol."

"Greetings, humans." Shayera said in a coarse voice. "Carter! You had no right to endanger Chloe's life like that!" Clark shouted. "Clark, relax! I'm fine!" Chloe reassured him. "You'd do the same thing if the love of your life could be brought back to you!" Carter snapped.

"Who'd have thought that the chicken man would have a soft spot for his love?" Laura teased. "How'd you know where to find Shayera?" Carter grunted, and dismissed her with a wave. "Because we have a bond so strong that it spans time and space itself." Shayera informed them.

"Chloe? That's your name?" Shayera addressed her benefactor. She nodded, and wobbly approached the winged alien. "Thank you for saving my life." Shayera bowed regally, and removed her golden mask. She had the beauty worthy of a queen, and long, flowing, reddish brown hair. "Where exactly were you?" AC prodded.

"I was lost in the Forgotten Realm." Shayera replied. "The space within the void where beings exist outside of your current reality." Zatanna nodded in agreement. "The Magic Realm." Bart patted his stomach. "All this excitement has made me hungry. Who's up for a quick trip to Mexico for a good burrito or three?" Gold Wing gave him a high five. "I'm there. Race ya!" Bart and Laura disappeared in a flash of speed.

"You said humans?" Oliver challenged Shayera. "Where are you originally from?" Shayera held Carter's hands as they embraced. "We were born over three thousand of your years ago. Our exploration ship crash-landed on Earth. We were from a far off planet called Thanagar." Clark and Kara exchanged glances.

"There are other civilizations out there!" Kara exclaimed. "Yeah, we knew about Jon Jonz, but he was from Earth's own solar system." Clark added excitedly. "You two are alien to this world?" Shayera gasped. "You are looking at arguably the last two survivors from the doomed planet, Krypton." Chloe boasted, as Oliver hugged her.

"Not to break up this happy reunion." Canary began. "But we should all get back to work. I'm sure that there are other major threats out there." She urged, eager to leave the Chloe and Oliver romance in the desert sand.

On the other side of the veil, at the **edge of darkness**, several shadowy beings watched with disgust as the torn rift between space, time, and a myriad of dimensions began to close. They spoke with each other in a language never heard by humans.

"So the humans and off worlders are beginning to work together. This is not good news." One multi-legged shadow creature said. "The master will be most displeased." A secondary shadow creature replied as the last flicker of light from the door to Earth's dimension went dark.

In Smallville, Lois was just getting back to her apartment above the Talon. She'd practically smiled all the way home. Still on a high from the excitement of the day, she was beginning to settle down and digest the magnitude of the day's events.

Lois kicked off her shoes, and leapt onto the bed. I need to be in the city near Clark, she thought. Unless he's planning to keep living at the farm, then the commute would be outrageous! She silently debated, before kicking her legs up in the air and whooping loudly.

It's all coming together! Lois's mind continued to race. Clark and the Blur are one! I can't believe it! How can I fit into his life? I wonder if he really would give me the exclusive story when he's ready. Lois had given up on getting to sleep early. The excitement had been too much for her.

"Oh hell!" She grumbled aloud. "What did I do with Clark's ring?" Lois muttered as she tossed some clothes around in her bedroom. "I'm just damn lucky that he didn't curse me out for not wearing it." _Lois, why are you talking to yourself_? She asked silently.

"Here it is!" She happily announced to the empty room. Lois quickly placed the shiny ring with the bright blue stone at its center on her finger. _Now I can sleep well tonight_. She mused, and mentally started to come down off the high. She finally crashed out around midnight.

The next morning Lois showed up at the office as per usual. She hadn't a clue how to act when Clark would come in. She kept herself busy with updating their Centro Park story, and doing some filing. Finally, Clark strolled in around 9 AM. Lois darted toward their shared desk.

"Morning!" Lois quickly kissed Clark on the cheek, and he returned the affectionate gesture. "How'd it go, yesterday? Did you and Ollie save the world?" She asked half seriously. "Yep. Pretty much." Clark tried to downplay the bizarre event.

Watchtower's next.


	17. Chapter 17: Watchtower

**Watchtower**

After a normal beginning to the workday, Clark's cell phone beeped. He quickly looked over the message. It was from Chloe. Lois nearly jumped out of her seat. "Lois, maybe you'd better cut back on the caffeine infusion." He needled her.

"What? What's going on?" She was across the desk in seconds, glancing over Clark's shoulder. He began to feel dizzy. Lois was wearing the blue kryptonite gemmed ring. "That's not going to work." He mumbled. "What's not?" Lois was practically in his lap.

"Uh…that ring that I gave you…" Clark nervously glanced around the area. "What? You're not going to take it back, are you?" She asked warily. "No. The sentiment is the same, but I need to swap it out for a different one." Clark replied vaguely. "It zaps my powers."

Lois turned ashen. "You mean that you're not indestructible?" She quickly put her hand with the ring behind her back. "Almost." Clark hedged. "Let's take it over by Chloe. She has a few dummy rings that I had created left." Lois nodded. "We should check on this dock fire story as well, that way Perry doesn't think that we're just out fooling around."

"Good point." Clark bent away from Lois and the ring as some of his abilities restarted. "Smallville! Your eyes just went golden yellow!" She whispered. "Uh…that's because you're so close to me." Clark smirked. That was actually the truth, he mused.

It felt good for him to be honest with her. "Oh…sorry. We'd better roll." Lois urged, as she grabbed her Raspberry and a steno pad. Clark breathed deeply, as Lois moved far enough away to allow the rest of his powers to return. It was quite a rush! He observed.

"Should I put the ring away for now?" Lois asked worriedly. "No, let's just head over to Chloe's now, before we check the dock fire scene." Clark sighed, as Lois was ready to go. She kept her distance from him, while trying not to be obvious about it. "Where's my eager beaver cousin located nowadays?" She asked, after entering the elevator.

"Wait until you see this." Clark boasted as he pressed the button. Usually, they would be making out in the elevator, but now, Lois shuffled way over to the other side of it. Clark felt the power drain again, and quickly yawned. "Does this ring put you to sleep?" She inquired.

"It can." Clark replied halfheartedly. "It mostly renders me human." Lois's eyes widened. "That is so bizarre." She muttered. "A tiny rock can do that?" Clark nodded. "We shouldn't be discussing that out in public." He reminded her as the elevator doors dinged open.

"My enemies can use that against me." Clark informed her as they hustled through the Daily Planet lobby. The revolving door hit Clark and it nearly went off its rails. "Does it make you clumsy as well, Smallville?" Lois joked as she held his hand. "Probably." Clark admitted.

Once outside, Clark's powers quickly faded, and he grew tired. Lois was all energy and excitement, and half dragged him across the street. "How close is Chloe?" She glanced at him as her heels click clacked along the sidewalk. "Only a few blocks away." Clark yawned his reply.

The young couple chatted pleasantly, and Lois did most of the talking. "Here we are." Clark pointed to the recently restored building with the clock tower that held Watchtower Base. "My cousin is the Hunchback of Notre Dame?" Lois quipped as she glanced up at the colorful, circular, stained glass window within the clock tower's frame.

Clark tripped over the metal-framed doorway's base. He led her to the freight elevator entrance that allowed access to the thirty plus story building's loft. "Oliver bought this building for Chloe." Clark explained, as his eyelids grew heavy. "Don't let the antique appearance of the structure fool you. Chloe's got this place wired to the max."

They entered the freight elevator and the doors slid shut behind them with a hiss. There was a brand new eye verification security apparatus roughly placed at Lois's head's height. Clark bent a little bit, so the scanner could pick up his particular eyeball pattern.

It beeped some acceptance message, and the elevator shot up to the tower on its own volition. "Wow! Chlo' ought to put one of these at Disney World, she'd make a fortune!" Lois remarked. The elevator car came to a stop, and the doors hissed open.

Chloe turned to face them, surprised to see Lois on Clark's arm. "Um…I take it you decided to let Lois into our little group?" She asked harshly. "I must've missed the memo!" Lois left Clark alone and jogged across the floor to hug Chloe. "Don't be pissed, cuz. I've been pressing Clark's buttons to let me in for months." Clark sat down on Oliver's black leather couch.

"You look winded, Clark." Chloe asked with concern. "That's my fault, too." Lois confessed. "I'm wearing the evil ring." She waved it at Chloe, and glanced around the high tech war room. "Oh my God! Chlo' remember when we used to compete as kids as to who could build the best clubhouse? You win! Hands down!"

Clark felt a sense of déjà vu. He'd last heard her say that while watching the horrible future that the Kandorians would have created. "Yup. Big sister is watching you." Chloe admitted. She actually felt a sense of pride in Watchtower.

She was starting to warm up to the idea of letting Lois in. It had been bothering her for a while, not being able to share her secretive life with anyone but Clark, Oliver, and his dysfunctional crew.

"Is that green leather?" Lois appraised Chloe's sleeveless blouse and matching miniskirt. Chloe reddened. "Yes. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Green Arrow." She joshed. "Nice!" Lois smiled brightly. "Can Clark and I get some kind of colorful outfit as well? You know, something patriotic, like red and blue?"

"What exactly are you and my ex beau up to in here, saving the world?" Lois strolled around the Watchtower monitors. "Something like that, Lois, don't touch anything!" Chloe snapped. "Yeah really." Lois agreed. "I might start World War 3."

Clark was slowly falling over onto the couch. "Uh, maybe we'd better switch the rings, before Smallville turns into Sleeping Beauty." Lois suggested. "Yeah, well it would be your job to kiss him and bring him back to life." Chloe quipped. "Not a problem." Lois smiled lustily.

"I have the rings right here…" Chloe reached into a desk and pushed a secret lever, revealing a hidden drawer beneath it. In the hideaway drawer sat three sparkling blue kryptonite rings. Lois scowled."That kind of takes the luster off my unique ring with sentimental value." She scoffed.

"Ah, Lo' Clark would give you a ring any day." Chloe snickered. She removed one of the fake kryptonite rings and gave it to Lois, swapping it with the real k ring. That one she shoved into another leaded compartment.

Lois hadn't noticed Chloe's secondary drawer, which contained a baseball-sized chunk of green kryptonite. Chloe hadn't even told Clark that she was keeping the destructive piece of meteor rock in Watchtower. She felt bad about it, but it had come in handy a number of times before.

Clark immediately sat up, stretching leisurely. Lois fitted the fake k ring on her finger. "It will need a little adjustment." She commented. "So, Chlo' what are you and Ollie into here? Even with Ollie's Super Gold Mastercard, you don't stockpile this much hardware to play WII, or catch muggers, robbers, and rescue the occasional cat up a tree."

"I can't really say too much, Lois." Chloe said sincerely. "Most of this is used for monitoring Metropolis's nasty crime underworld." She looked to Clark for help, who walked over to them and stood behind Lois, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"We'd tell you more, but then we'd have to kill you." Clark chuckled and Chloe laughed. "Don't give Ollie any ideas." Lois added playfully. The monitor beside them beeped to life. "Speak of the green devil." Chloe joshed. "Arrow here, Watchtower…I uh…uh oh!" Oliver saw Lois peering over Chloe's shoulder. "I take it we've added to our dysfunctional friends list."

Lois smiled. "Hey…" Chloe snapped on a button that automatically muted any sound on their side of the connection. "Ollie!" Lois finished as Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. "Lois, we don't ever use our real names in over the airwaves conversations." Clark explained. "Oh? Gotcha!" Lois nodded. "I'm called Boy Scout…" He began. "That's appropriate." Lois remarked.

Chloe flipped the mute switch back off. "Let's call her Girl Scout." She snickered. Lois stood at attention and gave them a mock two-finger salute. "I pledge to sell no cookie after its freshness date!" She added. Even Oliver liked that one, smiling brightly.

"I'm sorry, Arrow, I wasn't thinking." Clark confessed. "We should have discussed this first." Ollie dismissed him with a wave. "That's okay. She'll fit in perfectly. She's not a team player, and never takes orders, just like everyone else." Oliver said sarcastically.

"I am too a team player!" Lois defended. "Just don't plaster our group all over the Daily Planet's front page." Oliver warned. The next monitor beeped to life. "Aquaman here." AC's tan face appeared on the screen. "Hey brown eyes! Welcome to the team!" He smiled broadly.

The next monitor started up. "Impulse here." Bart laughed as he checked out Lois. "Nice! Hola amiga!" The rest of the monitors followed suit. "Any friend of Boy Scout's is a friend of mine." Victor said cordially. "What on Earth?" Canary scowled at the screen.

"Hey!" Lois frowned. "You let that blonde harpy into your club before me?" Clark rolled his eyes. "Canary has proven herself to be a team player." Oliver defended. "Whatever!" Lois snapped. "Speedy here, what's the haps peeps?" Mia gave Lois a strange look.  
"Get out!" Lois shook her head. "Towel girl is a part of your team?" Mia made a rude gesture towards Lois. "This is going well, don't you think?" Chloe's voice dripped with sarcasm, as she glared at Clark, who reddened. "Hawkman here! Hawkgirl here!"

Lois backed away from the monitor, tripping over Clark's foot, and landed on her butt. "What in the name of?" She gathered her thoughts as Shayera waved her mace menacingly.

"Does she even have any super powers?" Hawkman grumbled. "Oh yeah!" Oliver quipped. "Girl Scout excels at getting herself and everybody else into trouble!" Clark helped Lois back to her feet.

"They're really good people." He tried to smooth things over. "They might be a bit rough around the edges." Lois nodded absently. "Aww! C'mon guys!" Courtney defended. "We should respect Boy Scout's choice to bring Girl Scout into the fold."

"I've been complaining for weeks that we should be acting more like a family, and less like a bunch of individuals with too much time on their hands." Stargirl continued. "I'm with Stargirl." Victor commented. "Me too!" AC added. "What can we give her to do?" Canary asked coldly.

"Sweep the floors?" Hawkman growled as Shayera stomped on his foot. "Girl Scout can be our link to the outside world." Jon Jonz said, startling Lois. The Martian had phased into Watchtower Base and was standing behind Clark. "She is a part of Boy Scout's destiny."

"It doesn't matter that Girl Scout possesses no supernatural abilities." Jon Jonz continued. "Many of us here do not either. She will be our Public Relations representative. It is becoming more and more obvious that we must not remain in the shadows." He lectured.

"The more people we save, the more we will be caught in the public's eye. Girl Scout will one day soon write our story, as she did for the JSA. Do not underestimate her value to the team." Jon Jonz warned, as the rest of them grew silent.

Chloe elbowed Lois. "Say something nice to them." She whispered. Lois stepped up closer to the monitor and cleared her throat. "Thank you for all that you do." She began. "I'll do my best to present your story…whenever you're ready."

Ollie nodded. "Arrow out!" One by one the team went back to their current adventures, leaving Chloe, Clark, and Jon Jonz alone in Watchtower. "Congrats, Lo' you're in!" Chloe praised. "I take it you'll keep all of this a secret until we all decide to 'come out'?"

"I will." Lois vowed as Clark hugged her. She turned to Jon Jonz. "Thanks for coming to my aid in there." The Martian nodded cordially, and disappeared through the walls.  
"Whoa!" Lois gasped. "That's some special ability!" Clark held her hands in his.

Chloe got up and walked over to the balcony's glass double doors, beside the stained glass window, and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony floor. Lois and Clark followed her. "This place does have a nice view." Lois praised.

The three of them looked over the streets of Metropolis. It was nearing lunchtime, and the cafes, restaurants, and clothing stores began to fill up. "I can't believe this." Lois commented. "My boyfriend, mild mannered Clark Kent, aka the Blur, is a part of a bizarre, elite, crime-fighting force. My cousin and my ex-boyfriend are keeping the streets of Metropolis safe, and beyond?"

"How did I miss all this?" Lois complained. "We were trying to protect you, Lo'." Chloe hugged her. "As fun as all this appears to be, everyone's life is constantly in danger. Yeah, Clark, Jon Jonz, and Cyborg are virtually indestructible, but yet everyone has their own Achilles heel."

Chloe continued on. "Lana and I tried protecting Clark for years, but situation after situation dragged us all further out into the limelight. Finally, Oliver and I decided to build Watchtower Base. It was originally Jimmy's idea of a place for us to live."

"What the hell is that?" Lois pointed towards a rapidly approaching streak in the sky. "That could be the last local member of our crime-fighting team." Chloe chuckled. "I told Lois the truth about me and she's here at Watchtower. I didn't want to speak for you, though." Clark said at a normal voice volume. "Who the hell are you talking to, Smallville?" Lois's eyes narrowed.

"That's okay, Kal!" Kara said over the roar of a nearby jet taking off from Metropolis International Airport. "I was hoping you'd tell her soon, before something else bad would happen like with Lana." Chloe backed away from the edge of the balcony. "Incoming!" She announced.

"What?" Lois's eyes went wide again. Clark smiled brightly at her. In seconds, Kara dove down from the bright blue skies, her golden hair reflecting the noonday sun. She flew towards Watchtower, and landed gracefully on the balcony beside Clark.

Lois fell backwards against the sliding balcony door. "Kara?" The super girl beamed as she helped Lois to stand straight again, giving her a big hug. "I'm so excited!" She shook Lois lightly. Clark and Chloe exchanged amused glances. "Uh huh!" Lois's heart raced.

"You're the last member of Oliver's crew?" Lois finally managed to ask after Kara let her breathe again. "I guess, other than Gold Wing, I'm the crew's newbie." Kara replied cheerfully.


	18. Chapter 18: Cult of the Jackal

**Beyond Smallville**: _Cult of the Jackal_

Scene: _Gotham City _- 1/11/11 11:11 P.M.

Back in Gotham City, things were getting ugly. The Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl all arrived at the Studio 45 Nightclub within Gotham's seedier side. Word on the street was that a gang war had broken out between the five top crime families in Gotham.

The Thorne, Dagget, Zambino, Moran, and McDunna mob families were all fighting over the final acreage of Gotham that wasn't completely under Commissioner James Gordon's top shelf police force's control. The denizens of Gotham referred to this area as The Badlands.

This was a sore spot with Bruce Wayne and his young crime-fighters. They had tirelessly worked hand in hand with the Gotham Police Department for years, to clean up the city. Dozens of psychotic criminals were now locked up in Arkham Asylum. Yet, it still wasn't enough.

The more that Batman and the GPD thinned the mobsters ranks, and reduced their territories, the more desperate the fleeing criminals had become. They committed bigger and more violent crimes, in a last ditch effort to hold onto their bloody, illegal lifestyle. The city was a tinderbox, and all it needed was someone to light the fire.

This also made the mobsters more willing to negotiate with outsiders. More deadly and seedier crime bosses came to Gotham to get a piece of the action. Racketeering, prostitution, drugs, gun running, extortion, etc. became commonplace. This became a fertile playground for the strangers that had worked their way over from Metropolis.

Rupert Thorne and Roland Dagget had reached an uneasy truce. They pooled their remaining resources together to make a stand against Carli Zambino, Tommy Gun Moran, and Ron 'the knife' McDunna. Tonight, Bruce, Dick, Barb and Commissioner Gordon would make a play for Thorne and Dagget. Bruce and Dick were perched atop the Studio 45 rooftop.

Barb was across the alley from them, helping to cover the side exit from the abandoned Warehouse Number 12. "Everyone set?" Bruce spoke quietly but firmly into his Bat Tooth Com Link. "Ready." Came Dick Grayson's reply. "In position." Barbara Gordon confirmed.

"This is going to be tough, everyone." Batman switched to area wide. "These are desperate, heavily armed criminals, and we really have no idea how many men each crime boss has on hand." He sternly warned. "The SWAT team is in position, as are the Gang Crimes Unit, and the regular Beat Officers." James Gordon informed them.

Barb's stomach churned, hearing her father's confident voice on her Bat Tooth Link. Dick shifted his weight uneasily as he checked the parking lot below them. The lot was crowded with the gang's cars, and the GPD had every entrance and exit under surveillance.

"This is likely the biggest gathering of Gotham's crime syndicates in history." Jim Gordon added. His voice transmission was now narrowed to the crime-fighter's Bat Tooths. "It's too big a target for our law enforcement officers to resist. No guts, no glory, I guess."

"We're here, Commissioner." Bruce said confidently. "I feel better, already." Jim Gordon said.

"Good luck, everyone." The Commissioner went back to area wide communications. "Remember, be smart, and be aggressive." It was then that the two mobster cars nearest the SWAT unit exploded, showering the officers with flaming shrapnel. A few of GPD's finest were injured.

"Whoa!" Barb nearly fell off the edge of the rooftop. The twin explosions had startled everyone. "So much for peaceful negotiations." Batman commented. "Come on!" He urged. "Let's go! Spread out!" he fired his bat grappling hook over to the other side of the street. He swung high above the warehouse, hearing the beginning hails of gunfire.

The remaining members of the SWAT team moved in on the crime lords' meeting. They blanketed all sides of the warehouse. Barb and Dick each followed Bruce's lead, soaring and grappling over the melee onto Warehouse 12's grimy, metallic roof.

Jim Gordon's voice boomed over the loudspeaker system. "Hold your fire!" He directed the SWAT team, spying the young crime-fighters aerial attack. "Thorne! Dagget! You can't escape! We have the warehouse surrounded. Give yourselves up." He pleaded to no avail.

"I want two more snipers positioned atop Studio 45 and the warehouse across the alley." Detective Bullock ordered per Gordon's instruction. The fire and rescue team had carefully arrived, and began to put out the smoldering bombed cars.

Deep inside the old, but functional warehouse, Rupert Thorne and Roland Dagget walked through a dimly lit corridor. Both men were now graying, and heavy set. They had been in the crime business for nearly thirty years now. They were surrounded by an army of bodyguards.

"Dagget, I don't like these new players." Thorne complained. "The one that they call Da Saad is too cool, too calm, like a hit man with ice water in his veins." Dagget nodded. "I know. But what choice do we have? Gordon and the bat brats have had us on the run."

"Da Saad spends a lot of time alone." Dagget continued. "He doesn't bother with an entourage of bodyguards like we do. It's like he's not afraid of anything or anyone. I don't trust a man without any fear. Fear is what keeps the gangs in line, and bosses like us in charge."

"After losers like the Joker, Penguin, and that nasty Catwoman, each tried to run our gang, and use them for their own cracked purposes, it's refreshing that a new potential leader like Da Saad keeps to himself, and keeps a low profile." Thorne commented.

"True. Two Face was the only crime boss that was ever able to unite the Southside Families." Dagget remarked as the men reached the entrance to the next level below them. "Give me the good old days, Rupert, before those lunatic Arkham Asylum rejects tried to co-opt every respectable gang in Gotham."

"Yeah Roland, those were the grand ole days, before the Bat, when half the Gotham PD was on the take from us, and we only had to trust ourselves, our boys, and our tommy guns." Thorne replied wistfully. "Yeah, but things change." Dagget said mournfully. "My arrest record would stretch from here to New Zealand." He shamelessly boasted.

"Its enough to make me want to go straight." Thorne chuckled. "I could grab my stash, and head for Fiji, live out my life in retirement luxury." Dagget laughed as they descended towards the basement parking garage. "Tempting, my friend, very tempting." He agreed.

The bodyguards, automatic weapons in hand, staked out positions at the exits. Warehouse 12 had four access points, each led to the appropriate street or alley. The parking garage held no vehicles, and had a vast open area, ringed by four catwalks.

"Did Da Saad say why we were supposed to meet here?" Thorne asked nervously. "No. He just said that we should be prepared to take on all new roles." Dagget replied. "Try and teach us old dogs new tricks, eh?" Thorne chuckled as a door squeaked open near the garage's center.

By now, Batgirl had entered the facility from the roof, and was gingerly making her way along the deserted corridors, occasionally dodging an armed minion or two. Batman and Nightwing were working their way in from the opposite direction. The young crime-fighters ran into surprisingly little resistance. Bruce was already becoming suspicious.

"Are you a little bored?" Dick asked sarcastically as he scrambled alongside Bruce's path, parallel to the main corridor. "You noticed that, eh?" Batman responded cynically. "I don't like this." He admitted. "It's too easy. No alarms to trip, barely any goons, something's not right."

Back in the parking garage basement, Da Saad, and a tall, lanky, shadowy figure had emerged from behind a column nearby. Thorne cocked his head. He hadn't noticed a doorway there before. "Hey, Da Saad!" Dagget bellowed. "Are you sure about this? I mean, what's your plan? Half of the Gotham PD is outside waiting for us to make a move."

Thorne scowled at the mysterious minion that Da Saad had brought with him. "Gordon's out there, and the Bat brats can't be far behind." He added. "They are of no consequence." Da Saad said in a stern, menacing, low voice. "No consequence to whom?" Dagget chimed in.

"No consequence to you." Da Saad replied arrogantly. Behind him and the tall, dark, figure, walked Carli Zambino, Tommy Gun Moran, and Ron McDunna. They were flanked by dozens of their flunkies, most of which, were armed.

"Rupert! It's a double cross!" Dagget shouted and reached for his personal pistol. By now, Thorne had scrambled behind a silver garbage scow, that provided some cover. He dug out his own automatic weapon, and watched as the tall, dark, man edged towards the garage's center. Thorne noted something odd about the man. He was wearing a black, jackal headed mask.

The jackal guy casually strolled into the middle of the area, his black cape swirling behind him. "Great!" Dagget grumbled. "Another caped, masked, nut ball!" Da Saad stood firmly at the entrance to the garage level, watching the confrontation with interest. Dagget hid behind a post.

The Jackal stopped, and raised his arms high into the air. "Kill each other!" He commanded loudly but devoid of emotion. The huge group of criminals all produced their weapons, and instantly bullets began whizzing in every direction.

Goons, thugs, and bodyguards fired randomly at one another, including their bosses, and superiors. "Crap! Fiji is looking pretty good now!" Thorne muttered as he dove behind the garbage scow. It was the only real form of cover that he could find.

Barb had stumbled onto the chaotic scene, pulling open an old exhaust duct grid. It clattered to the ground, clanging onto the metal catwalk, but no one seemed to notice her intrusion.

Batman and Nightwing had been attracted to the lower level by the gunplay. They were just beyond the walled entrance, when they came upon the grisly scene. "Nightwing! We're in over our heads!" Batman yelled into the Bat Tooth Link. "Where's Batgirl?" He shouted over the din of the firing weapons. "Listen! Batgirl! Abort! Do you copy?" Dick's panicky voice repeated.

Batgirl didn't hear the order to abort. She lurked in a corner of the catwalk. Within five minutes, it was over. Dozens of thugs lay dead or dying. Bruce and Dick ran along the outside walls of the garage. As of yet, no one had noticed them. Barb still didn't answer their calls.

The Jackal stood stoically at the garage's center. Somehow, he'd avoided all of the bullets, despite being out in the open. Da Saad leaned casually against a column. Several bullets had hit near him, but he, as well, somehow came out unscathed.

The guns had now silenced. The garage was filled with smoke, and the putrid smell of gunpowder, burned flesh, and smoldering corpses permeated the area. Barb was in shock, as she viewed the devastation from her perch atop the catwalk. She'd never witnessed this degree of carnage before. Two crime bosses remained upright, McDunna and Zambino.

Moran had fallen at their feet, a victim of multiple gunshot wounds. McDunna and Zambino faced each other, a mere few feet separating them. McDunna held his smoking automatic pistol aimed at Zambino's head, and Zambino held his long barreled pistol aimed at McDunna's.

"Impressive!" Da Saad clapped his hands sarcastically, as he approached The Jackal. "You've maintained control over our thuggish friends. We'll do quite well together." He praised. "The master will be very pleased." With that, The Jackal turned to face Da Saad.

"Listen, Da Saad, get one thing straight. I'm doing this because you and your bosses are paying me handsomely" The Jackal's voice was muffled by the mask, but could certainly be heard. "I belong to no one but myself." Da Saad smirked. "We shall see how you feel after a while."

Jackal glanced back toward Zambino and McDunna. "This is what happens if you cross me, Da Saad." The masked criminal began. He again raised his arms and gestured with his fingers. "Boom!" Instantly, Zambino and McDunna fired their weapons simultaneously. Blood spattered in every direction as the crime lords fell to the pavement.

Barb wanted to vomit, but to her credit, she held onto her wits, though her stomach heaved. She gathered her thoughts and fired the bat grappling hook. It latched onto the rafters, and she began her swing towards Da Saad and the Jackal, metallic Batarangs in hand. In the blink of an eye, as she readied her throw, something grabbed her, and Batgirl appeared to vanish.

Da Saad and the Jackal glanced upwards, but couldn't be sure of what they saw. Bruce and Dick reluctantly scurried up the slight incline that led to the alley way exit. "I hate turning tail and running, Dick, but we were outmatched, and we lost track of Barb." Bruce admitted.

"Let's try again, Batman." Nightwing urged, but a noise distracted them. "Batman! Am I glad to see you!" Rupert Thorne said as he crawled out from behind a set of metal garbage cans. "That's something you don't hear every day from a crime boss." Nightwing quipped.


	19. Chapter 19: Cult of the Jackal 2

_Chapter 19_

Batgirl was stunned as she sat on the ground next to her black and purple Wayne/Nippon Batcycle. I was swinging in to attack Desaad and that mystery guy, Jackal, when I blacked out. Barb recalled. But, how did I get back here? This is more than three blocks away! She realized that she now had a terrible migraine headache, and felt a bit nauseous.

Bruce! Dick! Barb excitedly fiddled with her Bat Com-link watch. She became aware that she was being watched. Batgirl whirled to face her would be attacker. "Who are you?" She snapped, reaching into her Bat Utility belt for a silver and black Batarang.

Before her stood a tall muscular man with cropped blonde hair partially hidden beneath a gray, felt hat. He was square-jawed and wore a common, unremarkable beige trench coat. His eyes were a piercing emerald green. "I am Detective John Jones, and you are the legendary Batgirl." It was not a question. "Detective Jones? Come on, pull the other one." Barb said cynically.

"Pull the other what?" Jones was puzzled. Barb ignored his attempt to change the subject. "Detective Jones, who is your commander?" She grilled. Barb knew virtually every policeman on the force through her father, Commissioner James Gordon. "I am new here, on loan from Metropolis Police Department." Jones lied convincingly.

"MPD?" Barb echoed skeptically. "What is your business, here, Detective Jones?" John glanced around nervously. "I am working a case involving one of your recent targets, Desaad, I believe, he calls himself." Barb folded her arms expectantly after replacing the Batarang in her golden belt. "What do you know about Desaad?" Barb grilled, forgetting to contact the others.

"I know that he is too much for you and your acquaintances to deal with." John said icily. "Really?" Barb snarled. "Desaad has special abilities. Powers that an ordinary human can't comprehend." Jones berated. "Before you go all X-Files on me, Detective, you should know that my partners and I have seen and dealt with a lot of weird stuff." Barb defended.

"Not like this, Batgirl." John argued. "Desaad has the capability to get people to do what he wishes through a type of mental force." He explained. "ESP?" Barb whistled. Detective Jones winced as the high-pitched noise irritated his sensitive hearing. "In a manner of speaking, Batgirl." He confirmed. "What makes you think that you can handle this?" She countered.

"I have experience in these matters." Jones replied haughtily. "Really?" Barb scowled. "I suppose you would, coming from Metropolis, the home of The Blur, and The Supergirl. Wait a minute…" She narrowed her eyes, though they were partially hidden behind her mask. "You. You're the Blur!" Barb accused. "Hardly, Batgirl." Jones denied. "But I do know them."

"How else would I get from there to here so fast?" Barb turned away for a moment to point towards the still visible flashing lights where the Gotham Police Department had the streets blocked off. When she turned back, Detective Jones was gone. Barb gaped at the vacant area behind the old tavern where she'd left her Batcycle. She'd neglected to tell him about the Jackal.

"I'll be damned." Barb grumbled aloud. "I better tell Bruce and Dick that someone else is working our mobster case." She flipped on the Bat Com-link, and adjusted the matching piece that was located within one bat ear on her costume. "Batgirl to Batman and Nightwing. Over."

"Batgirl!" Dick snapped. "Where have you been? We thought the perps got you!" He maligned her. "Batgirl? Are you okay?" Bruce voiced his concern. "Yeah, but you're not going to believe this one." She hinted. "I'm at Wilshire and Main, and I've no idea how I got here."

"Today's been full of surprises." Bruce agreed as he Bat cuffed Rupert Thorne. He secured Thorne to an iron-framed window about a block away from the wharf. That's where Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock would retrieve him. "Thanks, Batman. Nightwing." Thorne gushed.

Dick shook his head, allowing his lengthy black hair to fall more freely beneath his mask. Back at the warehouse, Desaad and the Jackal hadn't yet made their escape. They would have to get past all of Gotham's finest, to say nothing of the caped crusaders.

Desaad was losing his patience with the dilatory Jackal. "Jackal, need I remind you that we must first free ourselves from this predicament, before you are to get paid." He said in a menacingly calm voice with a clipped British accent. "Just a moment, Desaad. This takes time." Jackal snapped. "Time is a luxury that we do not currently have." Desaad countered.

"Influencing the minds of the disciplined, like the Gotham Police Department, is not as simple as accessing the feeble minded, like the various thugs and goons within Thorne and Dagget's employ." Jackal argued. "Are you saying that you can't deliver on your side of the bargain?" Desaad sneered. "If so, the payment from the master that you get won't be what you may expect."

"Don't toy with me, Desaad." Jackal growled, responding to the veiled threat. "You've no idea whom you're dealing with." Desaad wasn't impressed. "Nor do you, Jackal. Don't try any of your mental trickery on me either. I am a breed apart. You would just be wasting your energy, and my time. Can you at least distract the police, if you can't get them to kill each other?"

"Fine!" Jackal stood near an upper floor's open window, out of the GPD's gunshot range. Bullock and Gordon were still below them, barking out orders. Desaad stood by patiently, as the Jackal lit a large ceremonial candle, and repeatedly muttered some words in Latin.

A few of GPD's officers carefully placed their guns down atop their squad cars, and simply began walking away without a word to anyone. Two rooftop snipers began disassembling their rifles, and putting them away in a carrying case. Down the side of the building, three SWAT team members began swinging aimlessly back and forth, forgetting how to repel.

Jim Gordon watched in disbelief as young officer after young officer began to walk away without an explanation to their supervisors. "Murphy? Kelly? Samuels? Where the hell are you going?" Bullock demanded loudly. "Harvey? What the hell? Who gave the order to withdraw?" Jim was quickly growing exasperated. "No one, Chief!" The overweight detective complained.

"Please tell me that the Feds haven't taken over our hostage situation!" Jim Gordon exclaimed. Bullock wavered a bit, though he stayed at the Commissioner's side, revolver drawn. "Hostages? Who said anything about hostages, Commish?" Bullock stared blankly at him. "That's right." Jim agreed. "There were no hostages. We were …after…someone."

"The Bat?" Bullock offered. "He's been a thorn in our sides for years." James Gordon shook his head. "No. Not the Bat. Thorn…you said thorn, as in Rupert Thorne." Bullock nodded. "Yeah. That's what I meant. We were staking out Thorne and Dagget."

Jackal had created enough confusion with his mental games to allow the arch criminals safe passage. They simply walked out the side exit, past the confused officers, towards a waiting boat at the nearest edge of the wharf. Jackal's first test had been a success, Desaad thought, as he grinned evilly. Lord Darkseid would be most pleased, but he'd never tell the Jackal that.

Batman swung down from the top of the warehouse roof, landing smoothly beside Jim Gordon. "Did you get them, Jim? Desaad, the others?" His deep synthesized voice rumbled from beneath his cowl. "Geez!" Bullock waved his gun at Bruce. "You pointy eared creep! What did you do to us?"

Batman cast him a puzzled glance. "What are you talking about?" He directed his attention back to Commissioner Gordon. "Batman! Desaad! Thorne and Dagget all got past us!" The angry commissioner smoothed back his graying hair. "How? I thought that you had this place on a dragnet?" Bruce grumbled. "We did...at least I think we did." Jim responded. "Anyway, Nightwing and I have Thorne." Batman said.

"That should prove to be an interesting discussion." Jim commented. "This Desaad, he's pure evil." A new voice said from behind them. Detective John Jones stood stoically beside Bullock. "And you are?" Batman groused. "John Jones, Detective. I was just transferred here to help with the Desaad case. He's wanted in Metropolis on a number of charges ranging from racketeering to attempted murder."

"We have enough scum bags here in Gotham without importing them." Nightwing remarked from the other side of Jim Gordon. "Amen to that, Nightwing." Bullock snarled. "Where were you two? Don't tell me that Desaad and the others slipped past the dynamic duo as well,"

"Regrettably yes." Batman confessed. "Desaad is a slippery character. He also managed to outmaneuver the Metropolis Police Department." Jones continued. "Hence, my follow up investigation." Jim Gordon glared at the empty SWAT truck idling near the still smoldering gangster cars that littered the street. "Harvey! Where the hell is my SWAT team?" The commissioner barked loudly.

Batman feared the worst, that the SWAT team had been killed in the warehouse bloodbath. "I, uh..." Harvey stammered. "Lieutenant! Where is my SWAT team?" Gordon's voice was filled with menace. "We have them, uh, located, Commish." Bullock reddened. "Most of them are at O'Leary's Tavern a few blocks away." Commissioner Gordon did a slow burn. "Excuse me?" He stared at Bullock.

"At least they're safe." Bruce grimaced. "Uh, Lieutenant, you might want to put that away." Nightwing looked down at Bullock's still drawn revolver. "Don't be too hard on the men, Commissioner, they are not responsible for their actions." Jones put in, immediately drawing a glance from Batman.

"I'll say!" Bullock bellowed. "They're being totally irresponsible!" Jones frowned. "That is not what I meant. Desaad and the stranger possess the powers of extra sensory perception. In short, they can exercise limited control on the feeble minded." Batman scowled. "They're Telepaths!" Jones nodded.


	20. Chapter 20: Cat's Paw

**Cat's Paw**

Back in Metropolis, a slim female figure dressed in a black mini-dress, and black high heels, casually walked into the Metropolis Museum of Antiquities, her lengthy, curled blonde hair draped down her back. She carried only a common digital camera, and a bright gold purse.

The woman examined a few of the average antiquities, like a pretty, well built Queen Anne chair, an antique secretarial desk, and a replica painting of American Gothic. She snapped pictures of all of the antiques that she was interested in. No one paid her any mind, figuring that she was just an ordinary tourist, but this visitor was far from ordinary.

Sometimes, her camera shots drifted upwards and away from the objects in front of her. After spending a few more minutes admiring other antiquities, the lady noted the Egyptian God exhibit that had recently been on loan to the museum. "How pretty." She said aloud, as a museum curator approached her position. "Excuse me, sir." She cooed. "What can you tell me about this exhibit?"

"I'm far from an expert on Egyptian Artifacts, Miss, but I can tell you what I know." The polite, African American man replied. "This exhibit is on loan from Cairo. We only have it available for viewing this week, due to the high security costs." He informed her. "Oh? How fortunate it is for me that I've come to Metropolis at this time." She smiled brightly.

"The artifacts are quite valuable, then?" The tall beauty's big green eyes sparkled as she spoke. "Yes. The administrators won't even tell me what their value is." The man confided. "Well, I am impressed." She said playfully. "We are allowed to take pictures, aren't we?"

"Yes. I haven't heard about any unusual regulations." The man said casually. "I'm not really up on my Egyptian history." She continued. "Perhaps you can tell me the statues' names?" She asked innocently. The young man grinned proudly. "I sure can, Miss."

He stood alongside the multilevel display. "This one is Thoth, the hawk headed god…" he began. "Oh wait! I simply must get a picture of them all." She extended her digital camera's range to take in the entire exhibit, including the alarm system controls at the display's rear.

The young man flashed a bright smile as he continued, demonstrating for her camera each of the three-foot high mostly golden statues' names. "This is Anubis, the jackal headed God of the Underworld. At his sides are two golden jackal dogs." She continued to run the digital camera. "Oh, are the statues made of pure gold?" Her electric green eyes widened.

"Yes, Miss. Every one of them." He boasted. "Wow!" She flashed a bright toothy smile. "Next, is Horus the falcon headed god, Khnum, the ram's head god, and Set, the tapir headed God of Chaos, complete with the golden ankh." The curator continued. "The human looking gods were Amun Ra, the blue one, Osiris, and Maat, the Goddess of Justice."

"Very impressive and well crafted." The woman praised. "The final three are Hathor, the lioness headed goddess of love, Isis, the falcon headed goddess, and Bastet the cat headed goddess." The man concluded his presentation. "Cat headed?" The woman parroted. "She looks kind of mean to me." The man shook his head. "No, actually, cats were revered by the Egyptians as gods."

The blonde nodded. "My cat's name is Isis." She smirked. "What did you think of my presentation, Miss?" He fished for a compliment. "It was purrfect." She grinned thinly. "Thank you very much, sir." He cheerfully asked if she needed any other information.

"No, you've been quite helpful." The blonde glanced over at a tall, white and silver obelisk. "By the way, what's the significance of the obelisk at the center of the display? Is it an alarm or something?"

"No, Miss." The man walked away a short distance, and swiped an electronic key card through the reader at the edge of the glass display case. Immediately, the door opened, and he proceeded to straighten the obelisk out. It had tilted away from the statue shelves. The woman acted uninterested in the curator's attempt to clean up the display.

He stepped back out into the museum, the door closed and locked behind him. "The obelisk was thought to have magical properties by the ancient Egyptians. Really, it was just a sound form of measurement for the stone carvers to use that helped to design the Pyramids at Giza, and all subsequent pyramids." He informed her. The young woman thanked him for his help, and placed the camera back into her purse. She quickly glanced at some more displays before leaving.

Once out in the street, the tall, shapely blonde pulled a whistle out of her purse, and blew through it. The whistle was silent to the human ear, but commanded the attention of dogs and cats. In moments, a gray and black Siamese cat bolted from an alleyway behind the museum.

"C'mon Isis." She addressed the cat. "We have some work to do before tonight's prowl." The blonde placed the cat on her bare shoulder as her heels click clacked along the sidewalk. Not far from the museum, the Metropolis tourist was being shadowed. A dark figure leaned against a rooftop air conditioning unit. He glanced at the blonde and her pet through miniature binoculars.

His wristwatch Com link beeped. "Batman, are you sure that Selena's here?" A younger male voice said as the Batman tapped his bat ear communications receiver. "Yeah, Nightwing. I'm looking right at her." Bruce responded. "I Thought that she was giving up her nightlife of crime." The young crime fighter replied. "Maybe giving up on Gotham crime, obviously she's expanding her territory." Bruce added.

"In typical feline fashion, Selena is marking her turf." Batman snickered. "She's casing the Metropolis Museum of Antiquities." Nightwing scowled. "Because of the Egyptian Cat Goddess statue?" Bruce nodded, while never taking his eyes off of the Catwoman. "Exactly, Nightwing." Batman confirmed.

"I know you kind of like her, Batman, but Catwoman's not too swift." Nightwing criticized. "Hasn't she heard of the Metropolis Blur? Or the Supergirl? They'll never let her get away with it." Batman had already gone over every conceivable angle on Selena's whereabouts. "It's possible that the Catwoman's burglary scheme would escape the Blur or the Supergirl's attention." Batman analyzed.

"Besides, Selena's our problem, right?" Nightwing remarked cynically. "Yes. That's about the size of it." Bruce commented. "Its amazing that Catwoman never truly gets caught or captured for long." Nightwing grumbled. Dick knew that Bruce had let Selena off the hook a number of times, not that he blamed him.

She was very attractive, and single as far as they knew. Dick saw Bruce and Selena as two sides of a coin, with only the law separating them. Suddenly, a number of gunshots were heard nearby.

Lois Lane seemed always to be drawn to trouble. The eager young reporter had been told to get out of the office by her boss and mentor, Perry White. "Reporters go to the stories, the stories don't come to reporters." He often said, gently reminding the journalists that he employed about their Daily Planet mission statement. Today, Lois had wandered towards the Metropolis Police Department's 8th district.

The Eighth District was widely known for numerous violent attacks, anything from armed robbery, sexual assaults, gang banging activity, to common purse snatching and domestic disturbances. Lois was certain that a story would simply jump right out at her. As usual, her instincts were right. A number of gunshots pierced the relative calm of the sunny, Metropolis afternoon.

"Uh Oh!" Lois exclaimed aloud. I hope Clark or Kara are nearby, she silently mused. Gunshots in the middle of the day were actually rare, considering the questionable neighborhood that Lois was now walking through. She guessed that it was likely gang activity, seeing as how the darling Metropolis school children had just been let out of classes for the day. Lois considered cynically.

Quickly, Lois's cell phone was in hand. She had 911 speed dialed on the phone, her nimble fingers ready to go as soon as she could pinpoint the location of the shooting. Gang shootings, though horrible in general, didn't really warrant the attention of The Blur or Supergirl, as Metropolis's heroes were commonly known. MPD ought to be able to handle that much, Lois reasoned.

Lois turned a corner, heading in the direction of the nearest Metropolis public school. She saw nothing of any interest going on. A couple of teens were making out on a bus stop bench, a few more were loitering on a front porch, and smoking something illegal. Lois could pick up the aroma from where she stood.

A couple of kids were arguing and shoving each other across from the school. All in all, the scene seemed fairly typical for an average school day in this rough neighborhood. Lois was puzzled. So where had the gunshots come from? She wondered, carefully surveying the area again. Nothing.

Tires squealed from somewhere behind her. That got the attention of the loitering teens, as they quickly put out their illicit smoking material. Like frightened animals, the kids instinctively dove behind the porch. The couple making out had opted to run away from the noise, towards a different street.

Lois moved to the slight protection of an old brick building, peering around the dilapidated structure's well worn edge. She faced sound of the squealing tires, and readied her cell phone. A slick looking black car, the style of which she'd never seen before, whipped around a street corner, hugging the road as the vehicle sped in her direction. To her surprise, the unusual car screeched to a halt directly in front of her.

Lois was momentarily paralyzed, resembling the proverbial deer in the headlights. The slick car's gull wing door zipped open, and an eerie blue and red light spilled out of it. "Get in!" A deep, throaty voice hollered at her. Lois gulped, somehow finding the strength to speak. "Uh, no thanks. I'll take a cab." She quipped.

"Miss Lane, in a few seconds, several black SUVs will tear down this road, and turn you into Swiss cheese!" The gruff voice snapped with a huge degree of urgency. It was then that Lois noticed the man wore a black costume, with a mask over the top of his face, with a pair of bat ears atop his head.

"You're the Batman?" Lois gasped. Today was indeed her lucky day. "No! I'm Green Arrow!" The Batman remarked sarcastically. The SUVs then came spinning along behind the Batman and his odd shaped car. Lois heard some more gunshots ring out, and she dove for the open door, landing completely upside down, as her knees hit the roof of the extremely low profile car. "Ouch! Crap!" She bellowed.

Instantly, the car's gull wing closed, and the Batman hit the accelerator. The jolt sent Lois flipping forward, one of her heels clipping the Batman's right earpiece. The punch of speed then rammed her backwards, plastering her against the seat back, her chin hitting the car seat bottom. "Son of a...!" She exclaimed, unable to change positions due to the G Forces that held her in place.

Lois swore that she heard the bullets clanking off the back window of the car. In moments, Batman had lost his pursuers. Lois finally was able to take a breath. "The Batman?" She croaked. "We've established that, Miss Lane." He growled. "How do you know who I am?" She tried to focus her questioning. The car began to slow enough for Lois to move. She attempted to shift positions, reorienting herself in the seat.

"I read the papers." Batman grumbled. As Lois turned to face him, she was met with a wet spray. The spray instantly caused her eyesight to grow blurry, and before Lois could complain, she slid back against the seat, and was out cold. The Batman had sprayed a mild sleep agent into her nostrils.

He took her back to the Daily Planet underground parking lot. The Batmobile, in stealth mode, cruised silently through the garage. Batman parked in a dark corner of the area, and checked Lois's eyes. Her pupils were dilated. She would be out for at least an hour, but what to do with her? He wondered. "Alfred?" Bruce Wayne spoke into the car's console. How fast can you get to downtown Metropolis?"


	21. Chapter 21: Cat's Paw 2

_Cat's Paw_ - Chapter 21

Time had run out for Bruce Wayne and Lois, as a series of squealing car tires echoed through the parking garage near the Daily Planet. Two black SUV's approached them from opposing ends of the underground parking lot. This effectively cut off his escape routes. "Terrific!" Batman mumbled as Lois began to stir. "Alfred! We've got problems!" He growled into the Batmobile's communications console.

"Shall I send the Batplane in on remote, Master Bruce?" The loyal British Manservant responded. "Not just yet, Alfred." Batman replied. "It would attract too much attention. Especially from one or two local superheroes. We'll try and tough it out. Keep the Batjet on standby mode just in case." The sound of the squealing tires grew ever closer.

"Very good, Master Bruce." Alfred said, the resignation obvious in his voice. Batman had placed the sleek Batmobile into stealth mode, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough. Even with silent running, the car's unusual design would be visually stunning and unique.

"There!" Bruce exclaimed. A slight gap in between two larger vehicles appeared within his field of vision. "It would be close!" Batman slammed the Batmobile into reverse, spinning it around one hundred eighty degrees. He jumped on the accelerator, and the sporty black car's tires squealed loudly. Immediately, the two pursuing SUVs stopped and altered their angles.

Batman raced through the narrow gap between the darkly colored vans, the Batmobile's left side sparked, as it sideswiped the lefthand side van. "I hope they had insurance!" Bruce said cynically as he slapped the Batmobile into a ninety degree sharp turn, tearing ass down the rows of parked cars. The nearest exit was just ahead, its blinding light visible within the dimly lit garage.

Bruce hauled up the ramp, as the two SUVs corrected their pursuit clumsily, doing minor damage to some cars at the end of the row. The Batmobile vaulted off the ramp, going briefly airborne, before landing with a squealing thud on the garage's blacktopped entryway. Two very surprised pedestrians shrieked as the black car darted in front of them across the sidewalk.

A taxi cab driver, a delivery truck driver, and two startled local drivers slammed on their brakes as the agile Batmobile wove between them. The SUVs, unable to handle the panther-like moves of the Batman, decided to try another tactic: catch him with their other partners in crime. Immediately, the lead SUV driver barked into his cell phone, giving orders to his minions. They would attempt a dragnet.

Bruce slowed to just above the speed limit, but was at a loss as to what to do with Lois. He could simply stop and set her down on the sidewalk, or in a public park. Lois was groggy, but beginning to come out of it. He couldn't, in good conscience, just leave her in the middle of the unfriendly city, especially with nighttime approaching. Perhaps he could meet Alfred halfway, he considered.

Suddenly, the Batman was out of options. Three black SUVs and two highly souped up sports cars sped towards them. Whoever was pursuing them was good, very good, he mused. They had every street covered, almost like it had been a planned trap specifically sprung for the Batmobile. Maybe even like a coordinated government effort. It was something to think about, if he had the time.

There were too many other vehicles, to say nothing of sidewalk passers-by, to pull anything dramatic, Bruce thought. There was one option left. He'd have to outmaneuver them. Batman cracked a U-Turn, and sped down an alley. Unfortunately, this one didn't go very far.

He could see the wall of a building that blocked his path. There was a ninety degree turn just before the wall. He'd have to try that. Batman zipped towards the red brick wall. "What the hell?" Lois had become fully awakened. He hadn't the time to zap her with another dose of bat sleep spray.

"Oh crap!" Lois screamed and covered her eyes. Batman locked in the automatic turning mechanism at just the right time. The Batmobile's wheels flipped sideways, enabling him to cut the sharp turn. As it was, the car blasted two garbage cans off each fender, spewing muck all over the windows.

Bruce pressed the window cleaning button, and the muck and slime slid off onto the pavement. Meanwhile, he'd managed to double back behind the pursuers' vehicles. "Are you crazy?" Lois yelped as she finally turned towards the Batman, though the G Forces of his turn kept her solidly in place.

"Some people think so." Bruce joked in his low, menacing, synthesized voice. "Stop! Let me out right now!" Lois yelled above the sound of the skidding tires as they righted themselves. "I can't do that, Miss Lane!" Batman growled. Just then, two black SUVs crossed their path, approaching from opposing directions. "See those two SUVs? They want to kill you." Bruce said in a calm, menacing tone.

"Me? What the hell did I do?" Lois protested as they whipped down a one way street. "What makes you think that they're not after you?" Batman had already considered all of the other possibilities, like the experienced, well-trained detective that he was. "The Dock Fire story that you'd been pursuing." Bruce spoke in quick, clipped sentences. "You've shown a light on the local gangsta cockroaches." He added.

"I do that all of the time." Lois defended. "I'm a journalist, that's what I do." Bruce wasn't in the mood to argue with the stubborn Daily Planet reporter. "Maybe you should try another line of work." He said sourly. "Do you know who I am?" Lois hissed. "I'm the daughter of General Sam Lane, and the girlfriend turned fiancee...of Clark Kent." She caught herself before she'd said 'the main squeeze of the Blur'.

"I'm aware of who you are, Miss Lane." Bruce grumbled as he tore around another corner. "You're also an ally of the Metropolis Blur. That makes you a famous target." Lois fumed. "Why are you stating the obvious? The Blur, Clark, and I have worked that all out." She countered as Batman zipped the wrong way down a different one way street. Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic at the moment.

"The real question is why are you here, Batman?" Lois was in full reporter mode again. She'd literally been thrown into the lap of a front page story. "I'm tracking an old flame." Bruce quipped. "Do you mean stalking?" Lois taunted as the Batmobile sped across another intersection. "No. I mean tracking."

"You have your ex-girlfriend Lojacked?" Lois said scornfully. "It's complicated." Bruce evaded. "Why does everyone always say that?" Lois complained. "Well, how do you reconcile your relationship with both Clark Kent, and the Blur?" Batman, a master of psychology, inquired. Lois couldn't believe that she was discussing relationship issues with the mysterious Gotham City Batman, amid a crazed car chase.

"How do you reconcile the duality?" Bruce continued to verbally best Lois. "Duality?" She parroted. "Sure." Bruce clarified. "The duality that you know the Blur's secret, and you have to keep that information from Clark Kent." Lois shrugged. "Who says that I know the Blur's secrets?"

"You must have some power over him." Bruce pushed the conversation. "I don't have any power over him." Lois countered. "He just happens to like confiding in me." Batman was growing more mystified. "And Clark Kent is okay with that?" He goaded her. "Yes. Clark is okay with it. He understands that the Blur stands for more than just being some vigilante that keeps interfering in people's business." Lois hadn't intended for it to come out that harshly. Her words could come as a slap in the face to Batman.

"So I'm just some crazed vigilante, is that it?" Bruce snapped. "I don't know you!" Lois snarled. "I'm not even sure what side you're on! I do know that the Blur gives people hope. The hope that someone out there cares about Metropolis and the rest of the world." Batman silently considered Lois's words.

"The Blur moniker is kind of lame, isn't it?" Bruce pushed her buttons. Lois snickered. "Said the infamous Batman." She said cynically. "Actually, we've been considering changing that. Stay tuned." Lois added playfully. Bruce didn't quite know what to make of the opinionated Daily Planet reporter. For some reason, he decided that he liked her.

Bruce's thoughts were interrupted by the two souped up pursuit cars that had now begun to block their path. "Hold on!" Batman barked. He pressed a red button on the sleek, well lighted, dashboard. Immediately, a small canon appeared on either side of the Batmobile's fenders. "Whoa! You're not going to kill them, are you?" Lois whined, and toyed with the idea of slapping the Batman's gauntlet laden hand away from the upraised button. "Not necessarily." he quipped, and pressed the button again.

Two red missiles fired forth from the canons. Each missile impacted the cars' front tires and fenders. The automobiles were knocked sideways, allowing just enough room for Bruce to slip the nuclear powered Batmobile through the attempted blockade. The drivers weren't injured, just completely surprised. The enemies' tires caught on fire, and soon were reduced to stinking, smoldering, melted rubber.

"That was a rubber eliminating compound." Batman informed Lois proudly. "They have plenty of time to get out of the cars before any flames might reach the gas tanks." Lois chuckled. "I take it those aren't standard equipment?" She joked. "Special order, special creation." Bruce smirked, though Lois couldn't have seen it. "So, any idea who was chasing us, specifically?" She prodded.

"Someone named DaSaad" Batman surprised her by being so forthcoming. He pressed what appeared to be a CD player's eject button, and a silver DVD popped out. "I know of him!" Lois scowled. "I figured that you might." Batman added. "This DVD contains all of the info that I have on DaSaad and his cronies. I can't elaborate on how I came across this information. Suffice it to say that DaSaad has been under investigation for awhile." Lois noted that the CD / DVD player had a large "W" logo on it.

"That looks like the WorthingtonCo emblem." Lois pointed to the disc player. Bruce hadn't an exact idea what she was referring to, but he knew of the young multi-billionaire named Marcus Worthington. He decided to let her believe that the "W" stood for Worthington and not Wayne Industries. It would give her a nice false trail to follow. He slowed the Batmobile to a speed around the local limit.

By now, several Metropolis Police Department cars were en route, sirens blaring. It was time that he and Lois Lane parted company. Bruce casually grabbed the DVD disc and attempted to put it down the front of Lois's blouse. "Hey now!" Lois readied a vicious elbow intended for Batman's jaw. Hero or not, Lois was about to knock him silly. She never got the chance.

In the blink of an eye, Batman had slapped the Batmobile into autopilot, and sprayed a healthy dose of bat sleep spray under her nostrils. Lois's head sank, as he placed the DVD beneath her black lace bra. He righted himself and put the car back under his control. One thing that he hadn't thought of was how the Blur or Clark Kent would react to the whole fiasco. There would be time for that later.


	22. Chapter 22: Cat's Paw 3

**Cat's Paw 3**

Bruce Wayne spun the Batmobile around and headed back towards the Daily Planet parking lot. He slapped the communications console button into active. "Alfred! I'm taking Miss Lane back to downtown Metropolis. Please have the limo ready to pick me up." He directed.

"At once, Master Bruce." Came the gravelly voiced answer. Batman skidded through an intersection, and fired the retro rockets on the base of the car, enabling it to make a nearly impossible right angle turn. He scattered pedestrians, who cursed and shouted at the erratic driving of the sleek automobile.

Bruce had lost any pursuers, save one. As he sped down the alley near the Daily Planet, his car suddenly went airborne! "What the?" Batman exclaimed as the heavily armored car seemed to float aimlessly straight up and over the wall concealing an old cement rooftop. The building was about seven stories high. The car's wheels were still spinning as it touched down on the blacktopped roof.

Immediately, Batman slammed on the brakes, allowing the vehicle to stop on the dime, mere yards away from the other side of the cement roof. Lois was none the wiser, as the bat sleep spray was still in effect. Batman shut down the nuclear powered vehicle, and allowed the reactor to cool.

Bruce stayed in the car's cockpit, and allowed the array of three hundred sixty degree cameras placed at various intervals alongside the bumpers, quarter panels, and hood to view the area for him. Batman gasped as a cute blonde girl stood behind the Batmobile, her arms crossed indignantly.

"You in the car!" She yelled. "Come out with your hands up!" _I always wanted to say that_, she mused silently. Bruce gawked as the girl began to slowly approach the driver's side door. Batman toyed with the idea of starting up the Batmobile, and faking a ramming run at the girl or the edge of the rooftop, but curiosity got the best of him. The girl seemed unarmed and unthreatening.

He flipped on the access switch, and the bulletproof glass cockpit cover slid backwards into the body of the car. The girl continued her approach. Batman prepared a small nerve gas canister that he'd pried from his utility belt, just in case. If the girl threatened him, she'd be in for a big surprise.

"I know you!" The girl said as she stopped. "You're the Batman of Gotham City! A long way from home, aren't you?" Bruce sat atop the back of the seat, ready to spring into action, but soon realized that if what he guessed were true, any moves would be ineffective. _Time to play nice_, he mused as his lip curled beneath the cowl. "And you are?" Batman baited, using the voice synthesizer in the mask.

"You can call me Super Girl!" Kara smirked playfully. "Super Girl? That's not very PC, is it?" Batman asked sarcastically as he flipped the top shut on the nerve gas canister. "That seems a bit presumptuous, doesn't it?" Bruce goaded her. "I like it." Kara smiled. "Now, why are you driving like a maniac through my city, and what exactly are you doing here?" Kara suddenly heard a second heartbeat. "First, how did you get my car up here?" Batman countered. "I'm stronger than I look." Kara deadpanned.

Kara used her x-ray vision to view the second occupant of the car, but for the moment, let the mysterious Batman keep his identity private. She clearly understood about the need for secrecy and duality that most of the current superheroes needed. Kara gasped. "You are in big trouble, Batman."

"Why is that?" Bruce toyed with the young superhero. "Because not only were you driving like a lunatic, you've nabbed the Blur's main squeeze." Kara lied convincingly. "The Blur?" Batman played dumb. "Actually, I'm about to start calling him Superman, but we haven't announced that to the press, yet." Kara needled. "You and this Superman are related, then?" Bruce pried, quickly piecing things together.

"Yes, definitely." Kara confirmed. "You'd better let me take Miss Lane to work. When she wakes up, you'd better not be around. She's especially mean when she's been caffeine deprived." Bruce allowed himself a quiet chuckle. "Okay, take her. Then will you let me off this roof?" Batman bargained. "Done." Kara zipped past him, grabbing Lois out of the passenger seat and hefting her on a shoulder.

Bruce gawked at the incredible speed and strength that this Super Girl elicited. He began to become unnerved, a rarity to be sure. Batman's computer like brain sifted through all of the facts and stories that had been told on TV, radio, newspapers, and on line about the Metropolis Blur. He'd seen the recent footage of this Super Girl posing like a celebrity supermodel for any press that wanted a photo op. She certainly wasn't shy. But Bruce marveled that she looked like a normal teenage girl.

Batman had dealt with unusual beings before, like the mutant metahumans, Man Bat, Killer Croc, and Bane. He was fortunate that most of Gotham's criminal element were simply dangerous, insane, or eccentric humans. Super Girl was definitely something else. He listened for machine noise, but the young beauty wasn't any form of artificial intelligence that he'd encountered before.

"I'm taking Miss Lane over to the Daily Planet." Kara stated. "After that, I'll be back to get you off the roof, provided you drive more carefully as you leave the city." Super Girl's eyes sparkled. "Wait!" Bruce slid across the sloping hood of the Batmobile, landing on his feet just opposite Kara. This is when he noted that Super Girl was floating! She was literally defying gravity. Bruce's square jaw dropped.

"You're not a human?" Bruce fished. Kara scowled. "Unfortunately not." She replied. "Listen Bats, I don't think this is the time or place for chit chat. In about five minutes, the Metropolis traffic helicopters will be taking to the air. We look decidedly obvious, standing with a car atop a roof."

"What are you?" Batman was shocked. Kara frowned. "I'm a who, not a what, and I'm not from around here." She leapt high above the roof, leveling off, and quickly soared across the alley and upwards toward the Daily Planet's tenth floor. She held Lois by the waist in her left hand, and carefully jammed up the window with her right. This window led to the ladies restroom, not exactly a great place for one of the Daily Planet's star reporters. Kara glanced around making sure the restroom was vacant.

Bruce watched with amazement. In the last few minutes, his whole perception of the world had been turned on its head. Super Girl, and likely the Blur or Superman, were from another planet! That was the only logical explanation. He'd heard rumors of an alien from Mars trapped on a secret Air Force base in Nevada, likely Area 51, perhaps he or they had gotten free! Batman was stunned.

This information brought with it a whole host of new problems, Bruce silently observed. Were these aliens friendly to the United States, and in fact, the world? How many of them were there? Did they all have unusual abilities, like superior strength, speed, and the power of flight? How long had they been here? Did the Shadow Government know that they'd been invaded?

Batman quickly recalled a number of stories from nearby Smallville, where articles in every local paper told of beings with mutated abilities. Were Super Girl and Superman the cause or the creators of these anomalies? Were they part of their species? Before Bruce could speculate further, Kara had returned.

"Ready to go, Batman?" Super Girl asked, as she cautiously approached the caped crusader. "Yes. I have so many questions!" He grumbled. "They'll be answered soon, Batman. Read the Daily Planet this week. I'm not sure when Miss Lane will run the story. By the way, Miss Lane is engaged to Clark Kent, one of her coworkers. She's simply good friends with the Blur, soon to be known as Superman."

"I guessed that." Bruce scowled, as he slid back across the hood of the Batmobile, and leapt into the cockpit. "Will I see you again?" He pressed as Kara neared him, leaning on the thick armored side of the car. "I'm always here, around Metropolis, unless I'm called elsewhere." She replied. Batman committed Kara's small, adolescent looking face to memory. "Drive carefully." She said, smirking.

Bruce forced a thin smile on his face, and pressed the retract button on the Batmobile's canopy. Kara scooped up the heavy black car, and vaulted over the side of the building. She let it down easily in the dark and filthy alley between the Daily Planet building and the other small skyscrapers nearby. She'd already checked the area for any security cameras, finding none.

Kara glanced in every direction, before flying straight up alongside the Daily Planet. She used the multilayered fire escape as a partial cover from the sight of any pedestrians that may have been walking along the main street. Batman watched her soar in amazement, before powering up the vehicle, and driving off towards his rendezvous point with Alfred, his loyal manservant.

Kara again climbed through the window of the ladies restroom, and spun into her Linda Lee Danvers disguise. She piled her fluffy blonde hair high beneath a brunette wig, and donned a simple gray and black ladies business suit, topping the ensemble off with the fake plastic framed glasses.

She stood Lois up and walked her out into the nearly deserted hallway, rimmed by rental offices unrelated to the Daily Planet newspaper. Kara guided her to the elevator, and headed down to the eighth floor, which was being remodeled. This would eventually be the location of Lois and Clark's offices one day, most likely after Lois ran the Daily Planet exclusive stories on Clark and Kara.

Super Girl relished the opportunity to reveal herself, and by extension, Kal, to the world. She'd always felt that they could watch over Metropolis and beyond and still remain true to themselves. Kara sat Lois down behind a new, but currently unoccupied desk within a set of partially built cubicle walls. Lois was only now beginning to stir. Kara, in full disguise, hurriedly sped away and picked up a double espresso latte and a cinnamon bear claw pastry to snack on, and returned to the awakening Lois.

Down the street, Batman had driven the Batmobile into a common, paneled, race car trailer, to hide it from the rest of the curious denizens of Metropolis. Alfred had driven the limo with trailer over from Metropolis International Airport. Inside the trailer, Batman donned his Bruce Wayne outfit, a casual blue Polo shirt and black Dockers, and stepped from the trailer's side door.

A few casual pedestrians cast him questionable looks. To play the part, Bruce turned back towards the empty trailer, and thanked the alleged owner loudly for a sneak peek at the new race car. This seemed to satisfy any nosy onlookers. Alfred, meanwhile, had automatically secured the trailer from the limo.

Bruce slid into the backseat of the limo. Alfred pressed the electronically operated window button, enabling them to carry on a reasonably secure conversation. "Master Bruce, you look concerned." He observed. "Were you successfully able to return Miss Lane to her post at the Daily Planet?" Bruce shook his head and gave Alfred that thousand yard stare that so many soldiers seemed to possess after battle.

"No Alfred, I had some help." Batman admitted after a few more seconds of silence. "Help, sir?" He questioned. Bruce relayed the story of the mysterious car chase, Lois Lane, and the equally mysterious encounter with Super Girl. "My word, sir!" Alfred exclaimed. "This changes everything!" Bruce nodded. "That it does, Alfred, that it does."

Just then, the Bat tracker had picked up Selena Kyle's signal. "She's on the move!" Bruce said excitedly. Alfred quickly turned around, and pulled the limo and trailer into traffic, generally following the illusive Catwoman's trail, this time at a more acceptable speed. Bruce's work in Metropolis wasn't done yet.

Back upstairs at the Daily Planet, Lois's eyes fluttered open, as Kara waved the hot, steaming cup of coffee beneath her nostrils. "Ooh! My head! Please tell me that it isn't New Year's Day." She quipped, grabbing her forehead, and letting loose with a long loud yawn. "Kara?" She asked, returning to reality. "Actually, it's Linda, as in Linda Lee Danvers, remember?" Super Girl playfully corrected.

"Right, Linda." Lois sat up straighter waiting for the buzzing bees to stop humming inside her head. By now, some of the construction workers were arriving at the building floor's jobsite post lunch break. "Boy, have I got a story for you." Lois sipped the hot coffee, and grabbed the huge bear claw.

Lois suddenly glanced around the area, and silenced. "Miss Lane, maybe we'd better head back down to the newsroom." Kara said loud enough for the construction workers to hear. "You're right…uh…Linda. Perry will be furious by now." Lois caught onto the act. Kara comfortably played the role of Lois's assistant, helping the wobbly Lois to her feet. "Should I call Mr. Kent?" Kara added to her charade.

"That would be best." Lois took an unsure step forward, careful not to spill the coffee or drop the pastry. Most of the construction workers paid them no mind, other than checking out the women's backsides as they migrated towards the elevator. "Thanks K, I owe you!" Lois said quietly to Kara.

"No problem!" Kara remarked as she pressed the elevator button. "So, you're about to tell me how I got back here after riding around all morning with that lunatic Batman." Lois said curtly, as Kara quickly began the story. Back at the newsroom, Perry White was popping his head into every cubicle on the floor. Lois ducked down behind a nearby cubicle wall, and slid into Clark's area. _Just in time_! She mused.


	23. Chapter 23: Cat's Paw 4

**Cat's Paw 4**

Alfred towed Bruce's Batmobile back to the WayneCo private jet, and dutifully backed the trailer up onto a cargo ramp that had been lowered from the plane's underbelly. The media, always on Bruce Wayne's trail, had dogged him enough that he felt he had to make a statement.

Bruce stood before a small crowd of local and tabloid reporters, who waited breathlessly for the young mogul to greet them. Bruce stopped to wave and he gave everyone a good photo op, smiling appreciatively, though his mind was certainly elsewhere. That was the life of the Batman. Bruce Wayne, irresponsible playboy billionaire, was his creation. The cool, reasoned Batman was who he really was.

Alfred ignored the press crew, and patiently secured the private cargo jet with the world renowned red 'W' painted across its tail and fuselage. "Hey Mr. Wayne! What's in the big box?" One eager tabloid reporter shouted above the din. "Hello Veronica." Bruce replied coolly. "I ran across this great new sports car here in Metropolis, and I just had to add it to the Wayne fleet!" Batman lied.

Meanwhile, across town in a low-priced hotel room, sat an attractive young lady of about twenty four. "Grrr!" She hissed. "Wayne! One of these days, you're going to get yours!" She cursed vehemently, throwing a slightly used black high heeled shoe at the television. A short haired black cat slunk up to her, purring constantly, as she stroked the animal's fur. "I know, Isis, I have to really focus on our plan!"

She addressed the cat as if it were a person, a coworker, a partner in crime. "I shouldn't get distracted." She continued. On the TV, Bruce Wayne was still boasting about his various business deals. "Mr. Wayne! Jimmy Olsen of the Daily Planet." The red haired teenager's hand rose. "Daily Planet, eh?" Bruce repeated. "Yes, Mr. Olsen?" The wannabe photojournalist cleared his throat.

"I was wondering…were you going to attend the charity fundraiser at the Metropolis Civic Center Opera House?" Jimmy bravely inquired. "Yes I am, Mr. Olsen, but I already may have a date!" Bruce teased, bringing a chuckle to the entire media crew. Jimmy reddened, but continued to press the issue.

"Um…Mr. Wayne, can I suggest an interview with our star reporter, Lois Lane?" Jimmy prodded. "You may suggest anything, Mr. Olsen, but I believe that I covered all the pertinent information in the official WayneCo press release." Bruce stated coldly. "Nice try, Olsen" the woman at the hotel muttered "But I believe that its time that I met the illusive Mr. Wayne, date or no date." She vowed to the cat.

Selena Kyle had been on her own since she was a teenager. Her parents had died and she'd taken to the streets after getting into trouble in foster home after foster home. Finally, running on the streets, stealing, fighting, and even hooking, had paid off. She had become the premier cat burglar in Gotham City. Small crimes led to bigger ones, and still bigger ones, and now she was becoming financially independent. Her only nemesis, the Batman, had stood in the way of the really big scores.

Selena decided to take her crime talents on the road. This led her to Metropolis. She'd heard the stories of The Blur, and The Super Girl, of course, but that didn't deter her. The unusual crime-fighters would likely ignore her apparently petty crimes, instead leaving it to the Metropolis Police Department. The bigger picture would become obvious after a while, but by then, she'd be gone.

Selena flipped her lengthy blonde hair over her shoulder as she reached for the remote control. Wayne was just completing his impromptu press conference. "See you tonight, Mr. Wayne!" She switched off the TV and laughed maniacally. Selena recalled that she had seen Bruce Wayne only once before.

_It was two years ago_, the troubled Gotham City Catwoman remembered. She was loitering outside of a black tie political fundraiser for that insipid Commissioner James Gordon. She'd hoped to either rob some of the well to do partygoers, or pick up a john for the night. But she'd drunk too much blended whiskey, and wasn't physically able to concentrate, instead settling on a bottle in a bag.

Selena had walked out of the party and headed down an alley to finish her drink. Several cats had followed her around, looking for food. She'd nabbed a bag full of rolls from the server's table before a guard had ejected her. The cats meowed incessantly as they circled her, rubbing their heads and sides against her bare legs. She ate a few rolls, and tossed the rest to the cats.

At the opposite end of the alley, Selena began to stagger, the alcohol intake finally catching up to her. She collapsed beside a rusty old garbage scow, dropping her bottle onto the cement alleyway. The cats, still looking for food, had decided to befriend her. They curled up next to the passed out girl. A bit later, one of the black tie guys happened upon her, enjoying a smoke on the cool humid evening.

Selena became lucid enough to pay attention to the man. "Hey! Can I have some money?" She slurred, as the elder man slowed his pace. He glanced around the dimly lit area, and then turned to face her. "Sure, sweet thing. I'll give you some money." The man sneered lustily. "But you have to do something for me first. I mean as long as you're practically on your knees anyway…" He propositioned.

Selena, through the drunken haze, clumsily climbed to her knees. Just then, she felt, rather than saw him! A man in a black costume, wearing a cape no less! He glided past her, and shoved the wealthy man to the side. "You do that, and I'll have you up on indecent exposure, and solicitation." His deep voice growled. "Where's your badge, you caped freak?" The man retorted. The cats scattered.

"Right here!" The caped man punched the pervert in the jaw, and he sailed backwards into the side of a parked car, setting off its alarm. Selena fell sideways onto the pavement, looking dazedly up at him! The Batman! "Miss!" The mysterious caped crusader glanced into her cloudy blue eyes. "You need to stop this behavior, get cleaned up, and have some respect for yourself!" He barked at her.

"I won't tolerate all of this vice in my city!" He flipped a card at her. "This is for an abused woman's halfway house! Get your life back, before you die on the streets! Get up!" The Batman hauled her to her feet, wincing at the stench of the alcohol on her breath, and the garbage smell on her tangled blonde hair. He half dragged her onto the sidewalk and under the streetlamp. The Batman peered deeply into her eyes, but said nothing more. Selena was speechless! The Batman had taken time out for her.

By now, most of the partygoers were beginning to leave the building. The pervert had quickly righted himself and jogged away. "GO!" He growled at her, and seemingly disappeared into the darkness. She wasn't sure how he'd pulled off that stunt, given that her alcohol tinged gaze was slow to respond.

Selena recalled staggering towards the entrance, and leaning against the frame of the building's doorway. Moments later, she'd spied Bruce Wayne exiting beneath the canopy. She'd recognized him from the television, and the magazine covers. He'd cast a questioning glance at her. "What the hell are you looking at?" She challenged him. "Look at you, looking down on me!" Selena remembered railing against him, until a bunch of security people shoved her out of the way.

Wayne kept eye contact with her until an elderly, gray haired man hustled him away into a waiting limousine. Selena positioned herself more comfortably on the hotel couch, stroking her main pet's fur. That day, two years ago, the Batman had inadvertently saved her life. Selena recalled taking the mysterious vigilante's advice, and checked into the home for abused women.

Now she and the Batman had found themselves on opposite sides of the law. Selena had kicked the prostitution, alcohol, and drug habits in rehab. Her remaining vice was theft, and sometimes attempted grand theft at that. She had become the lady Robin Hood of Gotham, keeping some of her ill-gotten profits, and donating some to various causes like the home for abused women. _Who was Wayne to pass_ _judgment on her?_ She thought angrily. Isis meowed appreciatively.

Lois Lane watched Jimmy Olsen on television take his best shot at luring Bruce Wayne into an interview. "Nice try, Jimmy!" She said, balling her hand into a fist and slapping it into the palm of her other hand. Perry White had come up behind her. "The kid's got moxie, Lane. I'm glad you recommended him to us." He praised, which was a rare occurrence indeed. "By the way, Lane, are you and Kent busy tonight?"

Lois whirled to face the Daily Planet Chief Editor. "Just the usual, Chief, we're packing up stuff for our new condo apartment." Perry smirked and waved two tickets in her face. "You two can go to Wayne's charity fundraiser at the Metropolis Civic Center Opera House." Lois audibly gasped. "I take it we're going to it as a company sponsored event." She continued. "That's my girl!" Perry quipped.

"You can take a shot at interviewing Wayne, and maybe Kent could double up as a photojournalist, and nab some pics." Perry added. "If Wayne won't talk, don't worry about it. To my knowledge, he's only granted a half dozen interviews to anyone since his parents died about fifteen years ago. Give it your best shot." Perry concluded. "The paper can write off the cost of the tickets for charity."

"You got it, Chief!" Lois gave him a mock salute. "The MCCOH isn't exactly a Whitesnake reunion concert, but I'll give it my best go around." She quipped. "Yeah, it's not as if we're heading to an Elvis impersonator show or something, but a little culture never hurt anyone." Perry added to the joke. "I'll call Clark, and make sure that he's available." Lois volunteered as Perry headed back to his office.

At the hotel, Selena dug out a fancy evening gown that she'd been saving for a special occasion, or a high value target like Wayne. "It'll cost me most of the proceeds from our last job, Isis." She again addressed her cat. "I'll just take my money's worth out of Wayne's ass!" Isis meowed excitedly as Selena cackled. "I will be purr-fectly adorable." She said, measuring the elegant black dress up to her shoulder.

"What do you think, sweetie?" She adjusted the spaghetti straps to reveal more skin. The cat purred and rubbed against her bare legs. "I take it you approve?" Selena rehung the dress and picked up her pet.

Bruce had finally rid himself of the press, and he and Alfred momentarily reclined in the plush passenger cabin of the WayneCo jet. He continued to mull over the strange encounters that he'd had with first, Lois Lane, and then the mysterious Super Girl. Alfred cleaned his glasses. "My word, sir, what do you suppose motivates this Super Girl and her counterpart, the Metropolis Blur? Where do they come from? Why are they so different?" Bruce concentrated deeply on the computer monitor before him.

"Very good questions, Alfred." The Batman agreed without breaking his concentration. "I still don't have any answers. I'm speculating that the Blur and the Super Girl are highly advanced Metahumans, but I'm not convinced that is all that they are." Alfred's jaw dropped. "You don't mean…?"

"That's exactly what I mean, Alfred." Bruce scrunched his lips up in a frustrated scowl. "There had been recent stories that extraterrestrials are now and have been visiting Earth. Most of the information is deemed unreliable and sketchy at best…but what if…?"

"What if, indeed Master Bruce?" Alfred confirmed.


	24. Chapter 24: Cat's Paw 5

**Cat's Paw 5**

Lois had called Clark and mentioned the charity event at the Metropolis Civics Center, and that Perry and the paper were covering the cost of their tickets. He'd agreed to go with the provision that if something important came up, he'd have to leave, no questions asked.

Lois agreed and began to tease him about wearing a red and blue tuxedo. "I think that a nice black suit coat and black tie is good enough." Clark countered playfully. "I do own one, you know." He added. As near as he could figure, Clark was now about twenty four earth years old, and Lois was slightly older, having been held back for about a semester from graduating high school.

They would take Lois's new convertible to the event, and if Clark had to leave, he would just carefully zip off. She could spend some quality date time with her fiancée, and tell him about the impromptu ride with the Batman. Lois was certain that Clark would be pissed at the Dark Knight. At least she was safe and sound, despite the harrowing chase and ultimately being rescued by Kara.

Across town, Selena Kyle was almost ready. The blonde beauty had slipped into her sexy evening dress, fed Isis, and the small following of neighborhood cats that seemed to be attracted to her. She would walk into Wayne's formal ball proudly, with her head held high, no longer living in the gutters. Selena wouldn't necessarily rob the patrons tonight. After all, it was for charity.

Part of the Catwoman's scheme was to infiltrate the ranks of the uber-wealthy, befriend them, and when the timing was right, she would strike with catlike ruthlessness. This plan, in her twisted mind, enabled her to do two things, patronize the wealthy in hopes of garnering contributions to her own interests, and case them all for some major follow up robberies. Given Selena's duality, her plan couldn't fail. With feline ferocity, the Catwoman was deadly, a beauty and a beast in one sexy package.

Selena finished boosting her own ego, preening for the night's event. Wearing the sexy black dress, her long legs led down to pristine four inch heels, and her lengthy blonde hair cascaded down her bare back. "Isis, this will be a purr-fectly planned evening." She took one last glance at the mirror, and smiled brightly, a deadly, toothy smile that would immediately disarm any male that she'd meet.

Isis meowed appreciatively, and trotted up to her mistress with an expensive, silver and black handbag in her mouth. "Thank you, sweetie." Selena addressed her pet cat and co-conspirator. "Now you stay here, and when I get back we'll split a big bowl of milk." She directed. "Mommy's got a lot of work to do tonight." Selena petted her purring cat, and locked up the room, her heels click clacking on the floor, into the virtually empty hallway leading to the elevators.

Bruce Wayne and Alfred, his loyal manservant, had made their way back from the airport to the posh, Metropolis Arms Hotel, in the heart of the large Midwestern city's downtown business area. After Bruce took care of some WayneCo business matters with his current CEO, Lucius Fox, it was time for him to dress. "You don't have a date scheduled for this evening, do you Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"No, Alfred, females tend to complicate matters." The young billionaire quipped. "Are you speaking of Miss Barbara, the intrepid Miss Lane, or Miss Kyle?" The elder statesmen needled. "All of the above." Bruce chuckled. "Sometimes it's nice to be unencumbered." He added wistfully.

"Will you be taking a late night tour of Metropolis, Master Bruce?" Alfred inquired as he helped the Batman with his tie. "No, I think Metropolis has enough late night crime-fighters to go around. I'd just be getting in their way." He replied. "Tonight, is all about Bruce Wayne and the Metropolis charity crowd. It will almost be like taking a short vacation." Batman joked.

Lois stopped by their new Metropolis apartment to get ready for the charity event. Clark was out saving someone from a burning building, and he returned, covered in soot. "Honey? How was your day?" She asked sarcastically. "Fine. How was yours?" Clark playfully retorted as he put out a small fire that still burned on the sleeve of his blue flannel shirt.

"Are you going to eat after you zip in and out of the shower?" Lois questioned as she brushed some soot off of his face and kissed his cheek. "Yeah. I'd better. It wouldn't do to fall asleep at the charity ball in front of the vaunted Mr. Wayne." Clark replied cynically.

"Aww! It won't be that bad. We'll just schmooze the guests and hopefully shag Wayne for an interview." Lois smiled as she patted Clark on the butt. "Think of it as date night." She teased. "You get to put on that one suit that you own. I get to wear a flashy dress and uncomfortable shoes. What could be better?" Lois's voice dripped with sarcasm. "The best of all, the Daily Planet picks up the tab."

Later that evening, Bruce Wayne had arrived early, mostly to scope out the security arrangements. Some of Metropolis's wealthiest people would eventually be in attendance. Alfred took up his usual position, reviewing the hired help for the event. The wealthy guests would still expect a good amount of pampering, despite the charity theme of the ball.

The guests began entering the Metropolis Civics Center promptly at seven o'clock. Most of the men wore black suits and ties, while the women came adorned with every conceivable form of jewelry, from expensive earrings, to rare gold pendants with large gems ensconced in them. In short, it was a master thief or cat burglar's dream. Sure there was plenty of security, but could they stop Selena Kyle?

Clark looked debonair in his single dark suit, white dress shirt, and bowtie. Lois was stunning, in an elegant black dress, decked out in her mother's costume jewelry. She would also proudly show off her engagement ring, the one that Clark had literally made for her. He'd fashioned a fourteen karat diamond out of the appropriate rock formation, engineering the cuts of the diamond with his laser-like vision.

Selena Kyle followed shortly thereafter, dateless of course, and headed straight for the wine bar. She'd kicked her bout with alcoholism less than two years ago, and had grown so confident, that she could easily down a few glasses of wine or champagne without any fear of falling off the wagon.

Her strong will had enabled her not only to survive through rehab, but thrive, quickly ascending the social ladder. The name of Selena Kyle would no longer be spoken from the gutter. She would no longer be the butt of perverse jokes spoken by scum in the taverns, alleys, and nightclubs of Gotham. The Catwoman was well on her way to becoming a lady, at least that was her current cover story, and she'd stick to it.

Selena held a small glass flute of chardonnay wine, sipping it elegantly, as she cruised through the still milling crowd in search of Bruce Wayne. She momentarily brushed elbows with Clark as he held Lois's hand. "Excuse me." Selena said politely as her bright green eyes sparkled. "No problem." Clark said courteously nodding towards her. Selena had lifted Clark's wallet.

After a few more moments, Selena had reached her temporary fill of marks, acquiring seven men's wallets, and three small ladies' handbags. She gracefully made her way to the ladies' restroom to check on her ill-gotten gains. "Let's see." Selena murmured as she secured the door of a toilet stall. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet Reporter." Selena scowled as she spoke, checking Clark's ID.

"You have got to be kidding, twenty seven dollars?" She grumbled. "Hell, he needs this more than I do. I'll throw this small fish back!" Selena examined the rest of her haul. "This is more like it, one, two, three hundred dollars, four credit cards, six ATM cards, and a partridge in a pear tree." She snickered, amusing herself with the joke. Selena left the ladies' handbags on the floor of the bathroom.

Once back in the hallway which led to the restroom area, Selena casually glanced around and discreetly tossed the men's wallets into the male bathroom. She quickly walked away and resumed her search for Wayne. The startled bathroom attendant appeared in the hallway, discarded wallets in hand, but by then Selena was gone. He would of course report the robberies to the management.

Next, Selena would change her tactics. She strolled up to Clark, who was seated next to Lois at the bar, tapped him on the shoulder, and placed the wallet on the counter in front of him. "Excuse me sir, you dropped this." Selena cooed as Lois looked on angrily. "Thank you!" Clark said and examined the contents. All the money, credit cards, and ATM cards were neatly in place, right where he'd left them. Clark glanced up and Selena had vanished. By now it was almost time for Wayne's speech.

"She must be very good at what she does." Lois snapped. Clark cast a questioning glance. "Huh?" He asked in confusion. "Smallville, that blonde harpy just scammed you." Lois growled. "What?" Clark asked warily. "Lois, nothing was taken from my wallet. All the money, IDs and cards were fine."

"She probably just made copies of your ID and cards to sell on the Internet." Lois pointed out as they headed for a round table with several seats around it near the podium where Wayne was to speak. "It won't do her any good, Lois. All of my cards have PIN numbers and insurance on them." Lois sighed. "That may be so, but her clients don't know that." She added. "Are you sure all the money was there?"

"Yes." Clark confirmed. "I recounted it twice." Lois cracked a wry smile. "Maybe we should be offended." She quipped. "She probably thought that the little bit of money you had wasn't worth getting busted over." Clark reddened. "You're probably right." He agreed sheepishly.

Bruce Wayne took his place behind the podium, and the guests began sitting down. There was a polite round of applause as Bruce was introduced. Selena had taken a table directly in Bruce's line of sight, making it a point to leave the seat next to her empty, indicating that she was unescorted.

Her goal was to approach Wayne and either scam him, or give him a piece of her mind. Both would be considered satisfying to the ruthless Catwoman. Wayne droned on, thanking this individual, or that group, or praising the local establishment. Selena quickly grew bored but stayed in the center of Wayne's attention. At one point, Bruce made eye contact with her, and Selena smiled flirtatiously.

"That's her, Lois!" Clark exclaimed when there was a break in the speech. He gestured towards Selena's table. "I see her." The intrepid reporter affirmed. "What a scam artist! She's sitting right in the middle of everything, hiding in plain sight." She added. "Maybe she's Wayne's girlfriend?" Clark guessed.

"Seriously, Smallville?" Lois commented. "You work for the paper. Don't you know who Bruce Wayne is?" Clark shrugged. "Sure. What's your point?" Lois sighed before answering. "Bruce Wayne is one of the wealthiest businessmen in America and likely the world. He's the billionaire owner of Wayne Enterprises, WayneCo Power and Cable, and I could go on. He's also single." Lois concluded.

"Uh huh." Clark sounded unimpressed. "Anyway." Lois continued. "Men like Wayne don't have girlfriends. They might have mistresses, trysts, companions with benefits, or high society dates on call." Clark gave up the argument. "That sounds like an awfully lonely existence." He remarked.

Bruce had finally completed his speech, and after a round of applause, the audience went back to commiserating. Selena was tracking Wayne from the moment he left the podium. She followed him at a short distance from the makeshift stage to the well-stocked horseshoe bar at the rear of the hall.

The band was beginning to set up for the dance, and tune their instruments, as Selena cornered Bruce. "Mr. Wayne?" She began sweetly. Bruce whirled slowly, making direct eye contact with her. "Selena Kyle, Feline Fashion Enterprises." The Catwoman extended a hand. Naturally, Bruce knew exactly who she was, but dared not let on. "Miss Kyle. Nice to meet you." Bruce responded cordially with a handshake. "Feline Fashions?" He played the role. "That's centered in Gotham City, isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Selena confirmed as she mounted a barstool next to him. "I'm flattered." Bruce decided to play along with Selena in the hopes that she'd let some important information slip. "I've read about Feline Fashions in the Daily Planet and the Gotham Gazette." Batman continued with the small talk. "It's been pegged as one of the new and upcoming female owned businesses in the Midwest and East Coast."

Clark and Lois had angled close enough to Selena and Bruce to overhear the conversation. Clark had chosen to ignore them at first, but with Lois's prodding, he allowed himself to check it out. "Lois, this isn't right." Clark mildly protested. "Is it fair to the other reporters that you and I could grab a scoop that they can't?" Lois rolled her eyes. "Smallville, that's the nature of the business." She argued.

"Perry sent us here to get a scoop and possibly an interview with Wayne." Lois pointed out. "Look, if it bothers you that much, I'll go over there and interrupt Wayne chatting up our mysterious wallet nabber, and ask for an interview." Clark shrugged. "If you think that'll help you." He commented. Lois's eyes narrowed. "Smallville, does it seem odd to you that Wayne isn't surrounded by bodyguards?"

"He's probably got plain-clothes detectives or security personnel all around us." Clark mentioned. "Yeah, but they didn't stop lady light fingers over there." Lois countered. "Maybe I should warn Wayne to watch his wallet." She offered cynically. With that, Lois stalked straight over to Bruce and Selena.

Clark nervously eyed the audience, expecting a security detail to jump out at them any minute. Nothing. Now, Clark had to admit that Lois was right. _Where was Wayne's security?_


	25. Chapter 25: Cat's Paw 6

**Cat's Paw **

_Chapter 25_

"Mr. Wayne, Lois Lane, Daily Planet." The intrepid reporter extended a hand, and Wayne shook it. The lady thief glared at Lois and stirred the plastic sword in her mixed drink. "Ms. Lane. Nice to meet you, but I believe that I've said all I can for today. I have nothing further for you to report on beyond my standard WayneCo press release." Bruce stated coldly.

Clark edged his way through the crowd and ended up behind Lois. He kept a sharp eye on Selena's quick hands, which were currently resting on the bar countertop. "I was going to request an exclusive interview from you for the Planet. Are you interested?" Lois insisted much to the chagrin of Selena.

"I'd been considering that, Ms. Lane." Bruce said diplomatically. "As I stated, at this moment I have nothing more to add." Lois sighed. Perry warned her that Wayne would be a tough interview to get. "Thank you anyway Mr. Wayne." Lois said tiredly. "By the way, I'd keep my hand on my wallet if you are going to continue to chat with Miss Light Fingers here." She threw in the dig.

"Excuse me?" Selena snapped and was halfway out of her seat. Bruce knew who he was dealing with already, of course. The Batman wondered what a_** catfight**_ might look like between Lois and Selena. Clark rolled his eyes and muttered: 'Here we go!' "Your friend here just tried to lift my fiancée's wallet." Lois explained. "Is this true, Miss Kyle?" Bruce said as he tried to play innocent and Clark closed in on him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Bruce!" Selena feigned offense. "This is just another way for Miss Lane to get your name into her raggedy ass paper. I wouldn't even line my cat's litter box with the Daily Planet." Catwoman hurled the insult and now stood toe to toe with Lois. The bartender overheard the confrontation and sidled over to where the action was. He appraised the two women and the well-dressed men that escorted them.

Selena and Lois were about the same height and weight, but the Catwoman was more muscular and buff, and would be more than an even match for the army brat reporter. While the girls stared daggers at one another, Bruce turned to Clark. "Mr. Wayne, I can't prove that this woman stole my wallet and then returned it." Superman said honestly. "I see, and you are…" Bruce engaged him.

"Clark Kent, Daily Planet." He extended a hand to Bruce. "Bruce Wayne." Clark was now in a position to x-ray Selena and see if she was hiding anything. He ordinarily wouldn't invade a woman's privacy like that, but Lois's suspicions were egging him on. Clark lowered his fake plastic eyeglasses, and surveyed the beautiful but dangerous Miss Kyle. Sure enough, hidden beneath Selena's bra were credit cards, money, and an ATM card. Strapped beneath the waistband of her panties were some small gold rings.

Lois was right, Clark conceded. _But how to handle it_? He mused. "Ladies, can we not make a scene?" Bruce asked petulantly. "Miss Lane, thank you for your concern, but I can handle Miss Kyle." He added with some bravado. "Thank you, Bruce! Now, Miss Lane should apologize!" Selena's eyes narrowed.

"Fat chance of that, honey." Lois countered. "Mr. Wayne, It's your money!" She added. "Don't say I didn't warn you, if you end up going home without a dime on you." Selena literally growled at Lois, before sitting back down next to Batman. "I believe we're finished here, Miss Kyle." Bruce said angrily. "Should we go?" He asked as Selena smirked evilly. "Oh, let's stay and enjoy ourselves, Bruce."

"Uh, Mr. Wayne, a word please?" Clark invited Bruce to move away from the girls who were still glaring at each other. Batman shifted several seats over. Clark made eye contact with him. "I won't apologize for my fiancée's abruptness. I do believe that Miss Kyle isn't all that she seems. Be careful."

"Thanks, Mr. Kent." Bruce grinned thinly. "I wish that more citizens cared enough to watch out for one another. Back in Gotham City, life is tough for those who have not, and they are always after the haves' money and personal belongings. I haven't gotten that feeling so far, from here in Metropolis."

"The people of Metropolis are starting to have hope. The have nots and the haves aren't always at each other's throats." Clark commented. "They believe in a better way." Bruce nodded solemnly. "This is due to the involvement of the Blur and the Blonde in everyone's lives, isn't it?" Batman fished.

Lois was starting to cool off, and decided to ignore Selena's stares. She moved further away from Catwoman and ordered another drink. Selena nervously tapped her lengthy fingernails on the bar countertop. She was afraid to lose Wayne as her next mark.

"I like to think that the Blur and his assistant have already made a difference in Metropolis." Clark continued as Bruce made eye contact with him. "I believe that the Batman is trying to make a daily difference in Gotham as well." He baited Clark. "I've read about The Batman." Clark countered. "The press media has mixed feelings about him. Is he a vigilante, or a concerned law abiding citizen?"

"The press media usually just takes positions based on political expediency." Bruce said solemnly. "It was the same way at first for the Blur and the others here in Metropolis." Clark debated. "It's an ongoing battle for the public's security and support balanced against those with hidden agendas, be they political or religious. I prefer to remain positive and hope that good will eventually overtake evil."

"That's a good point, Mr. Kent." Bruce was slowly becoming impressed with the young Daily Planet journalist. "I guess that's all I have to say." Clark stated as he caught another evil glare from Lois. "By the way, you didn't hear it from me, but the Daily Planet will break a huge story later this week." Clark teased. "I'm not overstating the fact by saying that it will be life changing."

Batman's eyebrows rose. "Really? I'm intrigued." Clark grinned thinly. "I thought that you might reconsider doing an interview with Lois Lane. Yes, I am biased!" He joked with Bruce. "I'll be in Metropolis for another day or two." Batman played along. "Maybe I should check my schedule?"

"That's up to you, Mr. Wayne, but after this week, The Daily Planet will become a premier publication in America and beyond." Clark continued his pitch. "The story is that big, Mr. Kent?" Bruce asked skeptically. "Yes, I would say it is." Clark confirmed. "Can you give me any more details?" Wayne pushed. "No, I'm sorry. We have litigation to consider." Clark fibbed slightly.

"If an interview with Miss Lane isn't convenient for you now, you can always call one in next week to us." Clark attempted to close the deal. "Lois and I are available on the Internet twenty four seven." Bruce nodded. "I will seriously consider that, Mr. Kent." He conceded. "You can call me Clark." The two disguised superheroes shook hands, and this time, Bruce got the worst of it, feeling a bit of pain.

"Thank you for your concern, Clark." Bruce said cordially. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Wayne." Clark returned diplomatically. "You can call me Bruce, but she still has to call me, Mr. Wayne." Batman joked.

Clark snickered and said goodbye. He passed by Selena again and gave her a dirty look, and then joined Lois at the far end of the bar. Bruce returned to his original seat, much to Catwoman's pleasure. Batman nodded a glance towards Lois before reordering a drink and one for Selena.

"I suppose you went over to Wayne and apologized for me." Lois snarled. "No, Lois, in fact I did the exact opposite. Mr. Wayne is now willing to consider an interview with you next week." Clark replied proudly. "What? How did you pull that one off, Smallville?" Lois smiled broadly, as she kissed Clark on the cheek and leaned heavily into his chest, holding him close.

"Mr. Wayne is actually a fairly decent guy." Clark praised. "I hate to admit it, but he kind of reminds me of Lex Luthor when I first met him, before he became consumed by his own self-importance." Lois shifted comfortably into Clark's arms. "This is the week, Lois." Clark began. "This is when we change everything. Our lives will never be the same again."

"You're sure about this, Clark? No regrets?" Lois asked lovingly. "None whatsoever." He answered. "We're a team, Lois. That's how we'll approach everything." Clark held her for a moment as she risked a glance at Selena and Bruce. "So, Wayne is aware that Miss Kyle is scamming him?" She asked.

"I get the feeling that Mr. Wayne knows how to deal with Miss Kyle." Clark responded. "He'll find out what she's up to, one way or another." Meanwhile, Selena was still endearing herself to Bruce, chatting pleasantly, and keeping her** claws** on the bar top. "Would you care to dance?" Bruce asked her gallantly.

"Yes I would." Selena answered and flirted heavily by rubbing Batman's chest and taking his hand. They finished their drinks and stood up. Bruce kept Selena in front of him and at arm's length. He purposely walked past Clark and Lois and said: "Good evening, Miss Lane, Clark." Bruce guided Selena to the dance floor, holding her hand. Lois nodded courteously, and Clark waved.

Lois turned to him. "Clark? Wayne referred to you as Clark! I have to say, I'm very impressed, Smallville. You've learned the fine art of schmoozing." Clark smirked. "Let's hope that you're just as impressed with my dancing. I've been practicing. Shall we?" He invited.

"Sure, honey." Lois smiled broadly. Clark finished his drink and held Lois by the shoulder. "Practicing? With whom?" She fished. "Kara." Clark replied shortly. "I would've loved to see that." Lois chuckled as Clark began to lead her towards the dance floor. "You did stay off of our Super Girl's feet, didn't you?" She teased as they worked their way through the dense crowd.

"Yes, for the most part." Clark grinned thinly. What he failed to mention was that dancing wasn't the only thing that he and Kara had been practicing. With the wedding coming up, Clark was planning a surprise for Lois. The band played a number of slow songs, and Clark managed to stay off of Lois's feet. At one point, she'd playfully stepped up onto his shoes and made him synchronize the steps on his own.

Bruce and Selena danced well together, Clark noted. He still failed to understand why billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, insisted on surrounding himself with obvious thieves like Selena. Certainly, she was an attractive young lady, though he assumed that her tendencies were more towards evil.

Maybe it's because Selena was on the _**Edge of Darkness,**_ and Wayne thought that he could pull her back from the abyss, Clark speculated. He, of all people, could relate to that struggle throughout his own life.

Bruce danced elegantly, but carefully with Selena. After a couple of songs, the Catwoman somehow managed to let Wayne under her skin. She melted into his arms and relaxed, nearly forgetting that she had originally set Wayne up as a mark. Selena _**purred**_ in Bruce's arms, startling him. He already knew that Catwoman and Selena were one in the same, but somehow it didn't seem to matter as much.

After his discussion with Clark Kent, Bruce examined things more philosophically. The Catwoman was right here in his arms, enjoying his company, yet she was still on the way to becoming a master criminal, he mused. Maybe he and Selena were the same, split down the middle, half-light and half dark, one foot in the real world, and one foot in the surreal world of high pay and high crime, he analyzed.

_Can I save her from herself_? The Batman speculated. She could become a powerful ally or his ultimate archrival. By now, Clark and Lois had danced their way across the floor and were next to Bruce and Selena. "Mr. Wayne?" Clark interrupted his thoughts. "Would you care to dance with Lois?"

"Huh?" Lois perked up. She'd been relaxing in Clark's arms, and had nearly forgotten about Wayne's interview, or the mean, thieving Miss Kyle. "If it's all right with her?" Bruce was stunned. "Miss Kyle?" Clark asked the Catwoman, startling her. "Sure." Selena snapped, rising to the challenge.

The couple switched partners. Lois was too shocked to argue, and wanted to try and reel Wayne in for the interview anyway. Selena was pissed, but decided not to create a scene. She twirled over to Clark. He held her waist and grabbed her by the arm, and they danced to a slightly up tempo song.

"Miss Kyle?" Clark began. "Thank you for returning my wallet." He tried to catch the Catwoman off guard. "Um. No problem, Mr. Kent." She spun away and then back into Clark's arms. Lois quickly gave her the evil eye. "We shouldn't have accused you of the theft without proof. You know, a life of crime will ultimately never pay." He lectured. "Really?" Selena's eyes narrowed as she enjoyed the barb.

"What do you know about crime, Mr. Kent?" Selena baited. "Please, call me Clark. Lois and I cover the Metropolis crime beat for the paper. A majority of all recent criminals have been caught, tried, and convicted. Our crime rate is at an all-time low." Selena's eyes sparkled. She loved a good challenge. "Perhaps the criminals weren't very good." She sarcastically countered.

Meanwhile, Bruce and Lois were dancing pleasantly. She figured that Wayne was much smoother than Clark, and let the billionaire lead. "So, Mr. Wayne, what do you think of Metropolis so far?" Lois began her pitch with some small talk. "It's a fine, well run city." Bruce replied blandly.

"You realize that our crime rate has dropped, mostly due to the Blur and the other superheroes." Lois stated. "Superheroes?" Bruce echoed. "That's a bit presumptuous, isn't it?" Lois shook her head. "Not in my book." She countered, spinning away from Bruce and then heading back in.

"Clark tells me that the Daily Planet is breaking a big story this week." Batman smoothly changed the subject. "Did he?" Lois frowned. "That's true, but we weren't allowed to discuss it yet." Bruce nodded. "That's what Clark pointed out. Something about litigation?" he fished.

"Yes." Lois thought quickly on her feet. "After this week, the paper's circulation will go through the roof, and our multimedia divisions will be in the spotlight." She added. "Maybe I ought to invest in buying some stock in the company." Bruce smirked. "Maybe, you should." Lois smiled brightly.


	26. Chapter 26: Cat's Play

**Cat's Play - **_Chapter 26_

The song ended and the couples went back to their original partners. Bruce walked Selena towards the bar, under the hawk-like gaze of Lois Lane. Soon, Selena excused herself presumably to head for the ladies room, and Lois was tempted to follow her, but she hadn't the time to begin another investigation. "If Wayne thinks he could handle Miss Kyle, good riddance, not my problem." Lois said to Clark.

"Something tells me that we haven't seen the last of Bruce Wayne or Selena Kyle." Clark commented as he offered to get another drink for Lois. "Just a tall, cool, soda for me, hon." Lois replied. "Tomorrow morning we have to clean out our in boxes at work before the wedding practice."

Selena had thrown the rest of any evidence on her person away, keeping only the cash in her slim-line black purse. She guessed that she'd secured an invitation back to Wayne's hotel room, and on to plan B. The master thief strolled out of the bathroom smiling and confident, not a care in the world. Bruce waved her over towards the bar, and she walked elegantly past Clark and Lois without acknowledging them.

"Wayne said that if his schedule allows, he'll grant the Daily Planet an interview next week after our big announcement." Lois mentioned casually. "Great job, Lois! Perry will be happy to hear that." Clark praised. "The condition is that Wayne will only interview with the both of us." Lois added. Clark flashed her a questioning glance. "I wonder what that's about." He commented.

Lois shrugged. "Who knows? He's still likely an eccentric billionaire." Clark and Lois finished the drinks, and prepared to leave. They caught a cab back to the Daily Planet parking lot. Meanwhile, Bruce and Selena had ordered another round of drinks, and the Catwoman was in rare form, practically sitting in Bruce's lap. The two were enemies and friends at the same time, but certainly Bruce wouldn't trust her.

Thus began their complicated relationship. Batman would always err on the side of good, Catwoman would waver between being good and evil depending on which served her purposes best. Selena's take for the night was about fourteen hundred dollars all told, so she didn't specifically rob Bruce this time. In her vengeful mind, these rich people could afford to lose some money, it wouldn't really hurt them.

Selena opted to scam Bruce for money in other ways over the next month, playing at being his girlfriend. Bruce would play along, but would always keep her at arm's length. He got to know her intimately, which offered some insight into the female criminal's mind. The two of them were split right down the middle, Selena's dark side mirroring Bruce's light side. Batman headed back to Gotham the next day.

Meanwhile, Selena's business in Metropolis wasn't quite through. The very next night, Catwoman and her pet accomplice, Isis, were climbing atop the museum's roof. Selena had her eye on the nearly priceless statues of the Egyptian goddesses, Bastet and Hathor. She positioned herself near the glass skylight which happened to be directly above the Egyptian gods' statue cases.

"You've gotta love these green energy initiatives, Isis." Catwoman addressed her pet cat, who meowed appreciatively. The Metropolis Museum of Antiquities had gotten a grant from the administration to install a number of energy saving initiatives, including, to Selena's amusement, four well placed skylights to allow sunlight to be shone on the exquisite exhibit pieces. "Brilliant!" She commented cynically.

Catwoman used her titanium claws to cut a circular piece in the skylight glass. It was just large enough to lower Isis down through, her collar attached to one of Selena's custom grappling hooks. The pet accomplice carried a miniature camera on her jeweled collar. Selena monitored her pet's progress, as the black cat's paws padded lightly across the pressure sensitive plates beneath the carpeting.

If a human stepped on the plates when activated, a silent alarm would sound. The superiorly trained cat had done this trick a hundred times before. Isis would locate the alarm sensor and direct Catwoman to it. In moments, the felonious feline had stopped before the sensor array, sitting down daintily.

Selena monitored the cat's progress on an I Pad she'd attached to the belt that hung on her slim hips. "Good job, honey." Catwoman praised her pet. The sensor was along the back wall just behind the main Egyptian gods' showcases. Selena quickly relocated towards another skylight. This one was nearer to the sensor control array. She cut a much larger hole in the glass, grasping the circular pane so it wouldn't fall onto the floor and activate the pressure plates. Selena climbed through it upside down.

She'd hooked the secondary grappler to an air conditioning unit not far from the skylight. Catwoman slid down the grappling wire and stopped about six feet above the display cases. Still upside-down, she grabbed a can of spray and misted the area. The mist illuminated the red laser-like trip alarms that crisscrossed the room. Most of the beams were at one foot, two foot, and three foot heights from the floor.

This left the area immediately above the display cases vulnerable. Two automatic cameras were moving in her direction, and she immediately pulled a dart gun from her belt. With pinpoint accuracy, Selena fired a dart at the first camera lens, hitting it squarely, releasing a black tarlike fluid that covered the entire lens, repeating the same procedure for the second security camera.

Now, Catwoman only had seconds to act before security would intervene. Selena dangled above the display case that held the cat headed goddess statues. She lowered herself within an arm's length of the first case, and without putting any pressure on the display, still hanging upside down, she sliced another circle just above the first golden idol with her titanium claws, easily lifting the statue off its base.

Catwoman swung over the secondary case, and repeated the procedure. She produced and unfolded a black leather carrying bag, placing both idols within it, and strapped it across her slim back leaving her hands free for climbing and or fighting. Isis sprung up from the carpeted floor, landing deftly atop the opened case, within an arm's reach of her master.

Selena hauled the cat up and Isis climbed upon the carrying bag, as the master thief pressed the reverse button on her grappling line. The grappler device quickly zipped them back up to the roof, as the loud alarm sirens began to scream. In seconds, Catwoman, Isis, and her ill-gotten booty were running across the rooftops away from the Museum of Antiquities.

Two muscle-headed guards arrived at the display room, and spied the cases that had been pilfered. They searched the area to no avail, finally noting the broken skylights. There was nothing left to do but report the theft to their bosses. The police were already arriving, but by now, Selena was blocks away.

Catwoman finally ran out of energy about a mile away. She sat on the eaves of a tall building to inspect her merchandise. "Isis, aren't they beautiful?" She addressed the cat. "It would be a shame to melt them down and sell them piecemeal, maybe we should take them back to Gotham and keep them."

The cat meowed and suddenly hissed, arching her back. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A male voice said from behind her. Selena bagged the idols, and whipped around to face her bold opponent. "Well, hello there." Catwoman flirted as she struck a preliminary martial arts fighting stance.

Isis growled and spat as she hid behind Selena's outstretched foot. "Put them back." Clark Kent menaced. He wore a black shirt with the family shield on his chest, dark blue jeans, and black gym shoes. "Why would I want to do that?" Selena taunted as she circled in towards Clark, who stood there confidently with arms crossed. "Because you stole them." He stated emphatically.

Clark x-rayed the Catwoman and established her identity. "I don't know where you're from Miss Kitty, but those idols belong to the museum and the exhibit owners, and they're meant to be enjoyed by everyone." Clark lectured. "Yawn." Selena said defiantly. "Maybe you should take them from me, and put them back yourself." She challenged.

"Why do they always want to do things the hard way?" Clark asked rhetorically. Selena lunged at Clark, kicking him squarely in the stomach. "Meeeouch!"She screeched, and bounced off, tumbling head over heels onto the rooftop. The bag with the idols slipped from her grip and rolled towards the edge of the roof. Clark zipped over and grabbed them, slinging them carefully over his shoulder.

"Wow! Can you move fast?" Catwoman praised as her eyes widened. "You're so strong, too." She again flirted, righting her stance and edging towards him. "I don't suppose I can talk you into sharing the cat idols' value on the open market?" She said as she closed in near the bag.

"No." Clark stated coldly as he put the bag with the idols out of Selena's reach. "I take it you're new around here, so I'll cut you some slack." He added solemnly. "If you put the idols back, I'll speak to the police about reducing the charges to attempted robbery." Catwoman hissed angrily.

"That's not my thing." Selena growled, pulled some sharp cat shaped throwing stars out of her belt, and whipped them at the base of the carrying bag, shredding the bottom. She'd noticed that Clark was dangling the bag over the rooftop's edge. The idols slipped out, and Clark had to use his super speed to grab them before they fell. This distracted him long enough for Selena to grab Isis and jump off the roof.

Clark could have caught up to Selena eventually, but he wasn't in the mood to explain everything to the police department. He and Lois had to work early, and then face their wedding practice. If Wayne couldn't control his girlfriend, that wasn't his problem. Clark mused. Besides, how would he explain his presence atop the roof with Selena? Add to that, she'd gotten a fairly good look at him.

Clark grumbled and sped the idols back to the museum. Moving faster than the eye could see, he replaced the idols in their cases, shocking the investigating police. By now, the museum curator had been called to authenticate the returned pieces. At least he'd remembered to wipe his fingerprints off the statues. Unfortunately, any traces of Selena's DNA would be lost as well.

Clark had to decide on how best to deliver any criminals that he'd caught in the future. Until now, he'd simply used whatever was around, lead pipes, rain gutters, netting, basically anything he found to restrain his captives long enough for the Metropolis Police Department to arrive and take custody. He looked forward to the day when as Superman, Lois's name for him, he could simply walk the perps into jail.

An angry and disappointed Catwoman played on the hotel floor with her pet, aimlessly tossing a rubber bat toy to the precocious feline, who cheerfully swatted it back to her. "Isis, we were so close!" She complained to the excited black cat. "That overgrown goody two shoes ruined our plan and after all the work we put into it!" She maligned Clark. "He was magnificent though, wasn't he?"

Isis meowed appreciatively as Selena patted her head. "If only he could be turned to help us." She dreamed out loud. "In any event, we'll have to make a play for the goddess idols in a different town, and this time, one without some kind of a superhero to thwart our efforts."

Clark was bothered that Selena Kyle got away with the attempted theft, and silently wished that he'd simply hauled her over to the Metropolis Police Department for booking. _Consider this a onetime break_, _Catwoman_, he promised his conscience. Clark peered over the edge of the museum roof, and vaulted atop the antique outside of its cathedral ceiling. _Might just as well practice_, he mused.

Clark concentrated on a distant moth flapping its wings as Kara had taught him, bent his knees, and leapt off of the museum's grayish gothic turret. He soared towards the moth, which was many blocks away, and sailed through the air, with his arms extended before him. This time, Clark held his concentration, and dipped low above the rooftops briefly, before mentally visualizing his preliminary flight course.

He pictured his flight moving higher into the sky, and his body followed. Clark flew! He held his attention long enough to pass the moth and refocus on another distant point, the Daily Planet's slowly spinning golden globe. Clark continued his flight, never wavering from his path toward the planet. He now had to concentrate even harder to land atop the news building where he and Lois frequently met.

Clark, feeling daring, practiced a slow arcing curve around the Daily Planet globe promising himself an elegant landing near the rooftop doorway. Below, on the street, a few passersby gasped and pointed. "Holy crap!" A taxi driver yelled as he hit the brakes hard. "Would you look at that?" He pointed out the shadowy form that flew near the globe to his next fare. The lady squealed. "Is that a bird?"

"No, is that a plane?" A terrified delivery boy asked as he dropped his box of pizzas. "Too small." The cabbie remarked. "That had to be the Blur!" The lady passenger hollered. Clark heard the comments from below, and lost his concentration briefly enough to cause him to fall against the air conditioning unit, bending its pipes and bulkhead. The Daily Planet building shook and Clark quickly repaired the damage.

"That could've gone better." He grumbled as he brushed off his clothes.

Next: Superman!


	27. Chapter 27: Superman:Rough Justice pt 3

**Superman part 3 – Rough Justice **_from All's Fair in Love**.**_

Bruce Wayne's computer-like mind was always a few chess piece moves ahead of any adversary, but today, he was caught off guard by this group of superheroes and everyday people. His latest distraction had been the evening with Selena Kyle, also known as Catwoman. He tried to refocus his priorities after the beautiful and dangerous Miss Kyle had disrupted them.

"What exactly are you moving forward on, Mr. Queen?" Batman inquired. "As you no doubt know, Batman, I have already decided to reveal my Green Arrow persona to Metropolis and the world. Now that I'm in the public eye, there are others that may or may not wish to join our cause." Oliver sounded very much like a salesperson, as he attempted to draw the caped crusaders in.

In the background, another motorcycle came roaring into the parking lot. The solo female rider circled around the oddly secured bat vehicles, and pulled up alongside Batgirl's bike. She flipped off the vintage cycle's engine. It was a 1976 Honda Gold Wing with the lacquered black finish and gold racing stripes.

The tall, slim, muscular young woman dismounted from her cycle. She removed her black and gold helmet and attached it to the back of the bike seat. She shook her head and a full, lengthy, mane of raven black hair spilled onto her shoulders and down her back. She stalked up the few stairs that led to the VFW Hall's lobby entrance. The masked young woman pushed both doors open and entered the banquet hall.

"Did I miss anything?" The new arrival said in a synthesized voice. Oliver smiled broadly as he waved the girl over to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gold Wing." He joked in an exaggerated tone and applauded. Dick Grayson whistled as the attractive young bike enthusiast made her way over to them. Gold Wing made an exaggerated, playful bow toward the audience.

Barbara Gordon gasped as she noted that the young woman's outfit resembled her Batgirl getup. Bruce Wayne sized the guest up. Gold Wing was taller than either Barbara or Dick, with long legs. Her raven black mane displayed several bright gold strands of hair which rimmed her smallish face.

The Gold Wing was dressed in tight, form fitting leather pants, sported black leather slightly heeled boots, a hip hugging, gold chain link belt, a bright gold blouse that was low cut, and a loose fitting leather jacket that framed her hourglass figure. She topped it all off with a cheesy black Mardi Gras style mask, with large eye slits. Bruce focused on her eyes, eventually determining that they were steel blue.

"Hey, I like that style, sister." Gold Wing said as she checked out the Batgirl outfit. "You rock! I take it that you're the Batman, and…uh…what are you supposed to be?" She grinned thinly at Dick Grayson. "Nightwing." Dick said curtly. "Okay. I guess that'll work." Gold Wing conceded.

"How could arguably the fastest girl on the planet nearly be late for the meeting?" Chloe playfully chastised Laura Lake. "What can I say? I took my dad's motorcycle out for a spin to get here."

Laura responded. "You're fast?" Nightwing smirked as he spoke. "That is for me to know and you to find out." Gold Wing flirted. "She's nearly as fast as me." Bart put in as he hugged Laura.

"That has yet to be determined, Impulse." Gold Wing snickered. "After the meeting we race to Mexico for some fresh Chalupas!" Bart challenged. "Done. Loser pays." Laura and Bart fist bumped.

"Done." He agreed. "It takes more than a costume and an attitude to become a crime-fighter." Batman snarled at Gold Wing. "Said the man in the bat costume!" Laura snapped. "Okay. Moving on." Oliver urged. Gold Wing purposely took a seat next to Dick after greeting the others.

"Detective Jones, how many people are you still expecting?" Batgirl asked from across the row. "There's no way to know for sure." The Martian Manhunter replied. "I have invited roughly twenty five people. Most have responded positively." As if on cue, three more cars pulled up in the parking lot.

"Does this group have a name?" Bruce growled, posing the question to no one in particular. "We're still working on that angle." Oliver answered as he took his place in front of the stage. Kara had finished fussing with the speakers' paperwork, and had taken a seat next to Lois and Clark.

Arthur Curry and his wife Mira arrived next. Neither wore any type of costume, but Bruce noted the color scheme of orange, green, and gold throughout their clothing, including the symbol of a gold trident emblazoned across the chest of AC's orange shirt.

Dinah Lance and her younger sister, Donna, came through the lobby shortly thereafter. Dinah wore her natural fluffy blonde hair which cascaded halfway down her back, and Black Canary gold and black eye mask. She wore green contact lenses to hide the true color of her eyes. She wore a simple black miniskirt and gold sleeveless blouse that featured her insignia, an image of a black colored canary.

Donna, a conservative talk show host in Oklahoma, was the latest addition to the team. Dinah had been forced to tell her sister the truth about her secret life as a superhero. Donna had no powers, but could be used as another media relations outlet once the team had decided to go completely public.

The final car had contained Courtney Whitmore and Ken Nelson. The newest guests came in full costume. Courtney was in full Stargirl gear, Staff of Justice in hand, wearing a red, white, and blue outfit consisting of a dark blue miniskirt, and a cropped, midriff bearing, red and white half shirt sporting a bright blue five pointed star across her chest. She topped it off with a dark blue mask that highlighted her mane of blonde hair. It gave her the appearance of a cheerleader, Bruce noted sardonically.

Ken Nelson wore a blue outfit with the Gold Helmet of Naboo upon his head. The group had been doing some research, and Carter Hall had located young Kenny Nelson, the nephew of the late Kent Nelson, who had died tragically a few years ago. He had assumed the mantle of the Dr. Fate of this generation. Kenny accented his outfit with a flowing gold cape and gold vinyl boots.

Oliver introduced everyone in the group, as Barbara and Dick openly gawked. "These people are serious!" Dick commented into Barbara's bat ear. "I don't know how anyone could take them seriously." Bruce grumbled. "Hey bat dude! Lighten up!" Laura snapped. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

As if on cue, Victor Stone arrived, running into the VFW Hall wearing his traditional silver metallic outfit with the half head eye mask. "Am I late?" He asked as he chugged past Courtney and Ken. "Not just yet, Cyborg." Oliver answered as the floor beneath Cyborg's feet rumbled.

Bruce was really intrigued now. _Was this guy really a Cyborg_? He wondered silently. The young African-American man seemed human enough. Bruce and Lucius Fox had been experimenting with cybernetic technology, but this guy appeared to be a highly evolved android.

A loud pop was heard, followed by a huge plume of white smoke, which drifted up towards the rafters. When the smoke cleared, the leggy magician, Zatanna stood leisurely in place, striking a sexy pose. "Zana?" Bruce barely mouthed the word. He knew Zatanna Zataran from his early experimentation with magical tricks and the art of escape. He'd trained under the world renowned John Zataran, Zana's father.

"Zee!" Oliver quickly greeted her. "Glad you could make it." Zatanna and Oliver hugged briefly. "I was on tour in Europe when I got your message. What's the big powwow about?" She asked pleasantly.

By now, Barbara and Dick were growing overwhelmed. Even Bruce had to admit that he'd underestimated the importance of this group get together. There was much more to the alien Detective Jones's outreach to them than he'd expected.

In the distance, a helicopter engine was heard. Oliver Queen had sent a company chopper to bring the few remaining guests to the event. Queen Industries had secured the area with a field dampener that had the effect of cloaking the VFW Hall. The helicopter landed just outside the range of this array.

The pilot, a trusted Queen Industries operative, had feigned engine trouble to the local Gotham City International Airport's control tower. The pilot said that his helicopter was under control, but he'd have to land in a field nearby to repair the damage, just to be on the safe side. Naturally, GCIA would want to inspect the personal chopper when it finally arrived at its destination.

This ruse allowed the last guests to get in under the security surveillance blanket, and quickly make their way toward the cloaked VFW Hall. A young woman in a tan and dark brown archery outfit was the first to hop onto a small motorized dirt bike, and zip through the roughage into the hall's parking lot. The last three guests chose an alternate route. The pilot, sworn to secrecy, gawked in astonishment.

The VFW Hall's lobby doors opened, and in flew Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and an attractive young woman in a multicolored swimsuit. Bruce, Barbara, Dick, and Donna Lance all gasped in unison. Oliver waved nonchalantly at the new arrivals. "That's everybody, I think." He announced politely, simultaneously watching and enjoying the stunned expressions on his other guest's faces.

"I believe you all know, well most of you anyway, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, but you may not know our royal guest, Diana Prince, Princess of the Amazons." Oliver let that fact hang in the air for dramatic effect. "Diana has chosen to become a visible ally to our cause." Jon Jonz spoke from the podium.

"In view of Mariah's attempt to lead my Amazons in a war against part of humanity, I apologize for the unorthodox way we were introduced to the world." Diana landed just in front of the stage, and quickly faced the moderate audience. "The Amazon Incursion was not my idea, and I differed greatly with my mother, Queen Hippolyta, but unfortunately, her word is final."

The seminar goers were stunned into silence. Hawkman and Hawkgirl flew quick circles around the hall, checking for any unwarranted guests. They landed in the center of an aisle, and hurriedly took their seats. Finally, the girl from the dirt bike rushed in. "Mia! Great to see you again." Oliver noted his protégé's arrival. Diana thanked the audience for their attention and sat down next to Clark.

"Will wonders never cease?" Lois commented. "You didn't tell me that Diana could fly." Clark shrugged. "I didn't know. She'd never mentioned it before. It's a wonder that she found this place."

Lois snapped her fingers. "That's it!" Clark eyed her suspiciously. "What's it?" He asked warily. "That can be Diana's superhero name: Wonder Woman." Lois clarified. "I guess. It fits her." Clark remarked. "I'll run it by her." Lois offered. "If she doesn't break me in half, that probably means that she likes it."

Bruce, Barbara, and Dick were speechless, Donna less so, because she'd just been given a good talking to by her elder, secretive sister. "Can I record this for my talk show?" She questioned Oliver. "No. Sorry, Donna, this meeting is to be kept under the veil of utmost secrecy. If you recorded it, I'd have to kill you." Oliver said with a look of seriousness. Naturally, he was just being sarcastic, but Donna didn't have to know that. Dinah smirked as her usually chatty young sister went silent.

"Now we can get started." Jon Jonz began with authority. "Let's begin with introductions." He encouraged. Bruce was beside himself, regretting the fact that he'd complied with Detective Jones' wishes, and turned off any recording device that he or the others had brought with them. They would have to commit the bizarre meeting to personal memory only. Queen had promised a transcript of the meeting.

Everyone introduced themselves using either their real name or their superhero persona. Finally, the Batman and the others spoke up. "Nightwing" Dick Grayson said bluntly. "Batgirl" Barbara stated warily. Bruce made doubly sure that his voice synthesizer was on. "Batman" and I wonder exactly what the purpose of all this is." He grumbled. "That is precisely what we will discuss next." Diana responded.

Diana had decided to join Jon Jonz, and Oliver behind the podium. The young Amazon was already used to speaking before large groups of people, though all were female, of course, but her proud mother had always put Diana front and center for any of the Amazon nation meetings. She would be expected to follow in Hippolyta's footsteps, should the queen one day grow too old to lead the tribes, or be killed in battle, which was the highest honor for an Amazon warrior.

Next follow the story in Beyond Smallville: Gold Wing


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